Disturbing Truths
by Princess.Die.High
Summary: When your father is Severus Snape, your mother is a Delacour, the men you fall in love with are dangerous for you, and you're in the Order of the Phoenix attempting to bring down You-Know-Who...sometimes you have to lie.
1. Secrets and Lies: The Beginning

They stood there, watching over me, my mother. My beautiful, tall, blonde mother. And my father. My dark haired, emotionless father. The two people I would rely on, my whole life, and one did not desire me. The blankets wrapped around my arms restricted me. I wanted to hold out my arms and I wanted my father to hold me. I didn't know why he wouldn't.

"She has your eyes...and your coloured hair," my mother whispered. Her eyes looked down at me, worried, but hopeful.

"She should not have my anything. This was a mistake."

"I take it you want me to raise her?"

"She will be better off with you." Why did my father not want me? I needed him...I wanted him. I wanted to have my father in my life. All children need a father, a person to help them through.

"She will want to know her father."

"Will she ever see you?" My mother asked, sadness overcoming her.

"Of course. I would like her to attend Hogwarts when she is of age. Beauxbatons will not teach her things that she needs to know. It is too dangerous for me to know her right now." What does he mean to dangerous? He can't leave me.

"Are you sure?" Mother asked. My father nodded.

"I must be going. People will be wondering where I am," Father replied.

"Of course." Mother wiped her tears. She could not conceal her sadness, but the look in her eyes showed that perhaps Father leaving was the best thing.

"Goodbye Apolline."

"Goodbye, Severus." My father was just about to leave, but before he could take the last step, Mother grabbed his arm and stopped him from leaving.

"Wait, will she take my married surname? Or will she be taking your surname?"

"I would like her to take my surname, but Delacour around home and your husband. And remember to keep telling your husband that it was his child." Father approached my cot and stood over me. I could not tell if his expression was one of disdain or admiration. "I will see you when you are older. I promise. Goodbye Isabel." With that, my father, Severus Snape, apparated out of the room.

* * *

**A/N: Welcome to Disturbing Truths! The main characters of this story will be: Isabel Snape (original character), Severus Snape, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda Tonks, Ted Tonks, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Fred Weasley, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour.**

**This fanfiction (and its sequel) has it's own tumblr page: bellabellex . tumblr . com **


	2. My Letter, My Chance

I sat around the table with my mother, who was holding my smallest sister, Gabrielle, my so-called 'father', who was really my step-father, and my sister Fleur. Fleur and my 'father' had always teased me about my accent. It was not purely French like theirs. My mother liked to tutor me in English because she said I would be attending a different school to everyone else in my family. I had no idea why she was so fluent, and I did not question it.

"Isabel, pass me the paper, please?" My step-father asked me, a smile on his face.

"Oui," I said, passing the newspaper.

My step-father wasn't as good looking as my mother. He was a plump man, but he was nice to me. He treated me like I was his daughter, his prized oldest daughter. I did feel guilty, he treated me so well, and I was not even his daughter. Mother told me never to tell him that I wasn't his daughter. He thought it would break his heart, but these disturbing truths always came out at some point. The thought of hurting him scares me, but the thought of me never knowing my biological father scares me too. Mother told me that he was a skilled wizard, and that he was a master at potions. And he's a master duellist. I'd always thought it was a lot to live up to, a father with a reputation like that. I've always hoped I'd live up to expectations. His expectations.

"When do you think the post will arrive?" Fleur said. At that moment, the owls arrived with the post, trigging Fleur to smile at me. You see, Fleur always thought she was psychic, even though the only thing she predicted was when the owls came, and the fact that the owls always came at the same time each day. She thought that was her 'power' on the side from being a witch. I always told her she was crazy, and then she'd tease me about my accent. It was a vicious circle.

"I knew it!" Fleur exclaimed, "I told you!"

"Sshh!" My mother, Apolline, spat. She had a headache this morning, she was in no mood for any misbehaviour from Fleur and I. The owl landed on the table, letters in its beak. My mother collected the letters and went through each one.

"Moi, moi, Louis, moi, Louis, moi..." Mother was saying, until she paused, holding a small letter in hand.

"Isabel." I gasped. A letter for me? The only time I got letters was on my birthday. I'm eleven years old, and it definitely wasn't my birthday today. I took the letter from my mother's hand and then opened it carefully.

"Read it, Isabel." My step-father asked impatiently.

"Dear Miss Isabel," I began. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I looked up at Mother. This was the school she had been preparing me for. I had been reading all about this school in books. It was legendary in the Wizarding World.

"HOGWARTS?" My step-father shouted, scaring me. I looked over to him - his face was turning red with anger.

"Oh no," I muttered under my breath. I knew this would be the day when he found out. He always suspected something when Mother said I was never going to be at Beauxbatons.

"What is this all about?" Fleur asked.

"I need to discuss something with you, Louis," Mother said, dismissing Fleur and I from the dining room. Fleur and I nodded, and went to sit on the stairs next to the dining room. We wanted to know how this conversation was going to play out. I took her hand and rested my head on her shoulder. I was frightened what he would do once he found out.

"When I was younger...but I was with you...I went to England and met this man named Severus Snape, a teacher at Hogwarts," Mother began. Fleur gasped and looked at me, she had connected the dots. My head fell into my hands. This was not the way I had imagined this would go. "We made a huge mistake, and he...he is Isabel's father, Louis," Mother said, her voice breaking at some points. Fleur could not believe what she was hearing, she looked incredibly pale.

"How could you do this to me?" My step-father yelled. Fleur and I jumped at the viciousness and loudness of his voice. "You lied to my face! What human being would do that? You told me all that time that Isabel was mine. I was there at her birth, crying, because I thought I was witnessing the birth of my first child...my first little girl. I wondered why she had black hair and dark eyes, but you made excuses. All this time I thought she was my girl! My daughter!" Louis yelled.

"Please, Louis. I was young and stupid...please forgive me!" Mother begged. My mother was begging for forgiveness, and of course Louis would forgive her. Mother was half-veela, no man would let go of an asset such as my mother.

"I will not leave you. We can fix us. But I cannot have Isabel around. She must leave. I cannot stand to look at her, Apolline. Take her to live with her true Father." Fleur started crying and hugged me, she had realised that I was no longer going to be around. She had realised that we were going to be split up.

"No! I do not want you to leave! I need you hear with me, my sister! Isabel! He cannot kick you out, I won't allow it!" Fleur cried, my shoulder wet with her tears.

"I'm sorry, Fleur." I took hold of her shoulders and smiled, trying to comfort her. "I promise to write to you. I love you, Fleur." I hugged Fleur tightly. I loved my sister so very much, and I was afraid I would be hurting her by leaving to go and study at Hogwarts. But, I would visit. All the time, if allowed by Louis, my step-father.

"I love you, Isabel." After a few moments of silence, Mother burst into the room and placed her arms around the both of us. She had been crying. I could not stand to see my strong, beautiful mother in years.

"You will be leaving tomorrow. Your father will meet you at Diagon Alley." That hit me like a train. I'd be meeting my father tomorrow. And Mother said it so casually, which made it even harder to believe. "Go pack your things, my darling. Fleur will help you. Fleur, go help your sister pack." Fleur and I stood up and walked to my room, where we packed, talked, packed and talked. How I envied her blonde hair and her effortless beauty…how I would miss my beautiful sister.

"Will you be happy?" Fleur asked, with her French accent getting in the way of her pronunciation.

"Oui. Of course," I nodded, not really sure what I was saying. Would I truly be happy?

"You will finally get to meet your father, oui?"

I nodded. What else could I do? "Oui."

"This is fantastic! You must tell me what he's like! If he is handsome...if he has a wife of his own..."

"I promise I will Fleur. I promise."

* * *

Soon enough, my trunk was full, and I was ready to leave. One more night, and I would finally get to meet my father. My father. That night, Fleur and I sat on her bed, singing songs in French and telling each other of our dreams. She told me her dream was to marry a handsome man, and have children of her own. I lied about my dream. I said nearly the exact thing to what she said, but I only ever had one dream - to meet my father. What was he like? Would he like me? Would I live up to expectations, or disappoint him greatly?

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter! **


	3. Snape

**A/N: I only started this story last night...and I'm up to chapter 3, it's crazy! It's probably me just getting excited. The first few chapters won't be the most exciting bits, but trust me, the good bits will come! Reviews would be greatly appreciated! Critism and all :)**

**Just to get one thing straight, Severus Snape is older in my story. Instead of being born in 1960, he's born in 1955, which makes him 5 years older than in the real Harry Potter books. That had to happen to make the story work. Oh, and Snape was 20 when Isabel was born. Obviously this was in 1975.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Sucks to be me.**

* * *

I woke up the next morning feeling nervous. Today was the day I was going to meet my dad. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I didn't want to leave my beautiful sister behind. You see, Fleur was my best friend. She was my world. We would stay up every night and talk about our future. She always wanted to be married with a lovely house and kids. I always included Fleur in my future plans, because she was important. She was as important as anyone else who was in my world. She kept me sane...she was, and is a wonderful sister.

"Isabel, my darling, time to get ready" Mother said, opening my door, then opening the curtains on my window with the flick of her wand. I looked out my window and went into a daze. Suddenly it hit me. I always had a loving family around me. What if my father hates me? What if he doesn't want to talk to me? What if he didn't want to teach me all he knew? What if he didn't want me around? The thought of all this made me stick to my stomach.

"No, no, no, no. Positive thoughts, Isabel," I told myself, placing one hand on my head, trying to calm all my thoughts. I looked to my trunk. Mother must have come into my room last night and used a spell on it, because it no longer said, 'Isabel Delacour', it now said, 'Isabel Snape'. Snape...that was now my last name._**'What are you talking about, Isabel, that's always been your last name!' **_I thought.

"Good morning" Fleur said, appearing in her favourite skirt, top and blazer.

"Fleur, I know the English language makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to speak to me like that"

"No, no, no! I want to! It helps you settle in." I smiled. Fleur was being the amazing sister she was. I thought by now she would have been teasing me about not being able to attend Beauxbatons, the school she would be attending.

"Girls, breakfast!" Mother called from the dining room downstairs.

"Coming, Mother!" Fleur and I both yelled at the same time.

"Meet you downstairs" Fleur said, leaving my room. I got changed into my best skirt, top and blazer and walked downstairs into the dining room. Fleur and Mother both acknowledged my arrival. My step-father, did not.

"Mother?" I said

"Oui?"

"How are we getting there, to England I mean?" asked.

"Portkey" she replied. I'd been reading about those in one of my mother's books she passed down to me. It sounded quite scary to me, but I guess mother wouldn't do anything to hurt me, or do it if it wasn't safe.

"Fleur, pass me the newspaper, please?" Louis asked Fleur. I felt hurt. He would always ask me to pass him the newspaper. But, things have changed, haven't they? I'm not his little girl anymore.

"Oui," Fleur said, passing the newspaper to him, and then looked at me, as if to check I was okay.

"Merci, Mother," I said to mother, thanking her for the breakfast. Mother then checked her watch and jumped.

"We must be going!" Mother announced, standing up. Mother walked upstairs, and came back with my trunk.

"Have you got your smaller bag?" Mother asked. I showed her the bag that was over my shoulder and she smiled.

"Say goodbye to your sister, Isabel." I didn't want to say goodbye. Fleur was the best thing I had in my life. Why would I want to contemplate saying goodbye? My gorgeous sister, my best friend. Before I could say anything, Fleur took me into a big hug and tightened her grip on me.

"Au revoir, Isabel. Promise you'll write to me." Fleur began to cry on my shoulder, and I kissed her on the cheek.

"Au revior, Fleur. I love you," I said, trying not to cry.

"Je t'aime too," she replied. I let go of Fleur and turned to my step-father, who was standing there with a sour look on his face. I didn't know that him finding out would make him more bitter than he was.

"Au revoir" I choked out.

"Get out of here, you ungrateful little brat. How could you walk around here pretending to be something you are not? A Delacour is of high blood, and you are not. You are trash, and trash is not permitted here. You are never to return," he spat. I gasped, as did Mother and Fleur.

"No!" Fleur cried.

"We must go, my darling," Mother said. Fleur said her last goodbye and Mother and I walked to the field at the back of our house with my trunk. The field was empty, apart from a metal cup. I was guessing that this was the portkey.

"When I say 3, hold onto the cup tightly, and don't let go! And keep hold of your trunk. 1, 2, 3." I held my trunk and the portkey tightly, and as soon as I knew it, we were in an empty shop at the end of Diagon Alley.

* * *

The shop was dark. What was even darker, was the person in the corner. His hair was dark, like mine, but his greasy, and mine was very long and straight. He had dark eyes, like mine. And he was dressed in a dark black, long robe.

"Apolline?" he said slowly.

"Severus..." Mother choked out. I gasped. This man is my father. He walked over to me slowly and stood over me.

"Isabel?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, looked up and met his dark eyes. His eyes were trying to read me like I was some sort of book. I could instantly tell I was his daughter. We had the same eyes. The exact same eyes.

"Hello...Father" I said softly.

"Say goodbye to your mother and wait for me outside," he said coldly. He scared me, so I didn't say anything back to him. I only nodded and walked over to my mother.

"Goodbye, Mother," I whispered, hugging my mother tightly.

"Goodbye, my Isabel. I love you deeply, don't ever forget it," she replied. She kissed me on the head as she let go of me, signaling me to leave her alone with my father. I pulled my trunk out of the room and sat on it, trying to listen to the conversation in the other room.

"Thank you, Apolline."

"Look after my girl, Severus."

"She's growing into a beautiful young woman. I will take care of her to the best of my abilities."

"I trust you, Severus. Don't let me down."

"I will not..."

"And don't let her fall into the wrong hands. You know who I am talking about."

"I'll try."

"Trying isn't good enough!"

"Apolline, please. I must go. Isabel has to be fitted out for her robes, and she also requires a wand." Mother sighed. Why did my father sound caring when he was talking to Mother, but not caring when talking to me?

"Alright. Keep her safe" Mother said. And with that, mother left. I stood up just as Father walked out of the room.

"Lets go," he said. "We will go to Madame Malkins to get your robes fitted, and I will send your trunk home. I have already got your books. And we must visit Ollivanders, you will be needing a wand."

"Okay", I replied, nervously. Father turned to my trunk and flicked his wand. I blinked, and my trunk was gone.

"Come," Father said, pulling on my arm. I caught up to him and he let go. We walked out into Diagon Alley and started walking

"When we get home, you will start studying. I expect you to excel in most things, but especially Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Those are important, and they were the things I excelled at. I will not accept anything below parr."

"Yes, Father" I replied.

* * *

We made our way down Diagon Alley and it seemed like so many people were staring.

"Who is that girl with Professor Snape?" A teenager with his family whispered. I guess most people didn't know that I was his daughter. I guess it was a little embarrassing for him to tell he had an affair with my Mother. We walked into Madame Malkins, and there she was herself, waiting for me.

"Miss Snape, if you wouldn't mind," she said, indicating she wanted me to step onto the platform. She began to measure me out.

"Just as I thought," she whispered to herself.

"So what house at Hogwarts will you be in, dear?" she asked. I looked over at Father for help. Houses? I had no idea there were houses and such. I think father went to Hogwarts, I wonder what house he was in?

"She should be in Slytherin. After all, I was in Slytherin" father answered.

"Of course. Slytherin's always do well academically, as you would know, Professor Snape." Professor Snape? He taught at Hogwarts? He didn't tell me. And neither did Mother.

* * *

After my fitting, we went to Ollivanders want shop. Along the way, father tried to make me understand that the want chooses the witch or stepped inside the ship to see an old man.

"Ah, Severus Snape," he said.

"Ollivander..." father walked to the counter, "my daughter requires a wand." Mr. Ollivander looked in my direction, his face full of shock. I took it no one really knew about me.

"Daughter? I did not know" he said.

"Well, now you know" Father replied, giving Mr. Ollivander the 'don't ask questions' look. It was as if he were already bored of the question. He'd be getting a lot more of it in the future.

"Ah, yes" Mr. Ollivander sighed and began to look through the wands that covered the walls of his shop.

"You are difficult, Miss Snape. Very difficult." He went on looking through the wands.

"Hawthorn, 11 Inches, Dragon Heartstring" Mr. Ollivander said, passing the wand to me. I felt a sudden surge of power through me. This was _my_ wand.

"I believe we have found your wand, Miss Snape" Mr. Ollivander told me. I looked over at Father, and he gave one nod.

"We shall be going then, Isabel?" Father asked.

I gave one nod, "we shall."

* * *

I soon found myself outside my new home outside my new home at Spinners End, a poor muggle community. We walked inside and I placed my robe and my wand on my trunk, which had successfully made it here.

"I know that you have been living a...rich life at your mothers home, but I don't have all that," Father said.

"I don't ask anything more than just getting to know my father," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. What did he expect? Me to ask for a horse and carriage?

"You ask very little for a Delacour."

"I am no Delacour, Father, I am a Snape. I am of your blood, not Delacour blood." I swear I saw a small smile creep across father's face.

"I have a present for you," Father said, walking to the kitchen. I soon followed him. I reached the kitchen, and sitting there, in a cage, was a black owl.

"This is for all the Birthdays and Christmas' I missed."

"She's beautiful...thank you."

"What will she be called?"

"Marieke"

"Interesting name, but it suits her. Now I wanted to give you these," Father said, passing me a pile of books. "They were my potions books, some of them, at least, and they will be quite useful to you in your studies."

"Thank you. Can I ask you a question, Father? Do you work at Hogwarts?"

Father nodded "I am the Potions Master, and the head of Slytherin. Now go get your books and start studying. There is no need for these foolish questions."

"Yes, Father" I replied, leaving the kitchen and going to my new bedroom to study.


	4. Hogwarts Express

**A/N: I've been writing like crazy over the past few days. Practically every night, I'm writing from 9:30pm til' midnight. I guess it's just because I'm enjoying it, and I want to get to the more important chapters, which are the chapters after Isabel's Hogwarts life.**

**Once again, reviews would be very appreciated.**

**Disclamier: I don't own Harry Potter, which sucks.**

* * *

It had been a few days now that I had been living at Father's. It's been okay, I guess. I've been a little lonely...but I think that's because the only thing Father makes me do is study. I grabbed my Defence Against the Dark Arts book and opened it. Over the past few days, I've most enjoyed this book. Defence Against the Dark Arts interests me the most. As I started getting really into my book, there was a knock at the door.

"May I come in?" Father asked, holding a letter.

"Of course" I replied. He sat on my bed and handed me the letter, "it's from your sister, Fleur."

"Thank you."

"What are you studying?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts" I replied.

"Hmph. At least you have your priorities straight. Make sure you are top of the class in that. Anything less, and I will be truly disappointed." Father stood up and walked out of the room. I took the letter and opened it. Fleur always had beautiful handwriting...

_**Dear Isabel,**_

_**Mother and I miss you dearly. Father doesn't care.**_

_**He even tried to take out all the photographs of you!**_

_**It's like he's gone crazy!**_

_**What is your father like?**_

_**Is he sweet? What does he look like?**_

_**Did you get your own wand? Tell me if it's like mothers!**_

_**I miss you dearly, I wish you were here so we could play games and learn magic together.**_

_**Mother sends her love. She misses you too.**_

_**Love,**_

_**Fleurx**_

The letter teared me up. I missed her too. I pushed my Defense Against the Dark Arts book and took out my quill, ink and paper.

_**Dear Fleur,**_

_**I miss you to. I miss mother as well, but especially you.**_

_**Don't worry about..your father...he just doesn't know how to react.**_

_**My father is very serious about my education.**_

_**He just wants me to do well.**_

_**He has my eyes, and he has black hair like me. But mine's much nicer than his.**_

_**He seems to be very protective of me, which isn't a bad thing.**_

_**I got my wand! It's Hawthorn, 11 inches, dragon heartstring.**_

_**Ask mother what that means.**_

_**I'm heading to Hogwarts soon. Not sure when.**_

_**I miss you and mother both so much.**_

_**Give mother hugs and kisses from me.**_

_**I send all my love,**_

_**Isabel**_

_**x**_

I put the letter in the envelope and wrote the name 'Fleur Delacour' on the front. I stood up from my desk and walked to Father's office.

"Come in," he said as I barely touched the door. I walked in and gave him the letter.

"Can you send this for me?" I asked him. He raised his eyebrows and snatched the letter from me.

"I can...and I would like you to pack your trunk back up, you'll be leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I didn't know it was that soon...

"Go and pack, Isabel. Now." I turned my back to Father and dawdled back off to my small room and pulled my trunk out. I felt weird, having to leave again, but at least father would be at Hogwarts with me, and he would be able to help me. I pulled out the picture of Fleur, mother and I and packed it safely i my trunk, with my robes, my other clothes, various school items and writing paper, so I could write to Fleur. I kept my wand with me. Father told me I must keep my wand with me at all times. I couldn't wait until I could use my wand. Father said I could not use my wand outside school until I'm 17. Bummer.

"Isabel...dinner," Father called. I rushed downstairs to the table and sat opposite him.

"What is this?" I asked.

"I believe the muggle's call it pasta."

"I didn't know you could cook"

"I'd been living alone. You learn it eventually. How is your studying going?"

"Well, I guess..."

"Have you been reading you potions books?"

"No."

"When you are in potions class with me, I need you to follow the instructions in that book. I will not favour you over any other student just because you are my daughter, yes?"

"Oui," I said, nodding.

"What does oui mean?"

"It's yes, in French." Father and I sat in an awkward silence until dinner was finished. Sometimes, I just wish that he would just hug me and tell me he loves me. The way a father should. But, he won't. It's like he refuses to show emotion.

"You can do the cleaning up," Father told me, coldly.

"I have studying to do, remember?"

"Fine," he replied. I excused myself from the table and walked back into my room. I pulled out a book Mother had given to me.

_**'WITCHES AND WIZARDS: THE DARK SIDE'**_

I flicked to a page titled 'Death Eaters'. Who are Death Eaters?

**'Death Eaters are some of the darkest witches and wizards of our kind, and are the followers of the most darkest wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort.**

"Lord Voldemort..." I whispered to myself, the name sending shivers up my spine.

**'Death Eaters believe in blood purity. They believe muggle-borns do not belong in our world.'**

I closed my book. Death Eaters make me sick. Dark Arts. They're all skilled in the Dark Arts. Well I'm going to make it my job to be an expert at Defecse Against the Dark Arts. I walked out, wanting to speak to Father.

"May I speak to you?"

"Of course," he replied. We moved to fathers study and both sat down.

"Death Eaters. Voldemort...tell me more about them" I said as father cringed.

"Listen Isabel, don't speak Voldemort's name. Say You-Know-Who. Look, all you need to know is that you mustn't mess with him or them. Please, do as I say."

"If you insist."

"Read more in your books. I can't speak to you on this topic."

For the rest of the night, I read History of Magic, Famous Wizards and Witches and Defence Against the Dark Arts Level 1. I soon fell asleep and into a deep dream.

* * *

"ISABEL. ISABEL!" Father yelled. I woke up and opened the door.

"Good morning. What is it?"

"We must leave in 15 minutes! Get ready!"Father said before slamming the door in my face. I put on my normal top, skirt, blazer and black shoes. I left my long, straight black hair out and my fringe fell on my pale, porcelain like forehead. I locked Marieke in her cage and put my shoulder bag on. I pulled my trunk out and then took Marieke and her cage from my room and placed the cage on top of my trunk. Father soon appeared, in his usual black robe.

"Ready to leave?"

"Yes, Father."

* * *

We arrived and Kings Cross Station and walked to between platform's nine and ten.

"I cannot come with you. I will see you at Hogwarts," Father suddenly said. What did he mean by this? He was not going to see me on the train? How rude...

"Wait! How do I get on the platform?" I called out. How did he expect me to do this by myself?

"Run through that wall," Father said, pointing at the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10. "It's simple. Goodbye, Isabel."

"Goodbye, Father." He gave me one nod and walked off. I turned myself and my trolley towards the wall and started running. As soon as I knew it, I was standing on Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

* * *

I made my way onto the train successfuly, but now came the hard part, getting a place to sit. I searched and searched for a compartment, but all of them were either full or not very nice looking. I passed a compartment and stopped. There were 3 people in there. 2 boys with red hair and a girl with purple hair that seemed to be changing. I opened the door and then swallowed.

"May I sit with you?"

"Yes, of course," one of the red haired boys said. I sat down next to the girl with purple hair and smiled.

"Are you a first year?" the oldest of the red hair boys asked. I nodded. The girl with purple hair grinned and her hair turned pink.

"I'm Nymphadora Tonks. Just call me Tonks. I'm a third year."

"I'm Charlie Weasley, forth year" the younger of the red haired boys said.

"And I am Bill Weasley. Sixth year" the older red haired boy said.

"And you are?" Charlie asked me.

"Isabel," I replied. I didn't want to tell them my last name. It might scare them off.

"And from what family are you from?" Bill asked. Oh no, I have to tell them. I cleared my throat and fixed my blazer.

"Snape...my full name is Isabel Victoire Snape." Bill, Tonks and Charlie all coughed at the same time, shock filling their faces.

"Your Professor Snape's daughter?" Charlie asked.

"Yes."

"You have his eyes..." Bill said.

"I didn't know Snape had a daughter!" Tonks exclaimed.

"Apparently no one did. I've been living with my mother in France until a few days ago"

"Are you a Veela? Just being curious...because, well, any kid coming from Snape isn't guaranteed to look as good as you do." Tonks enquired.

"Quarter Veela. Mother is half Veela."

"Shouldn't you have blonde hair and bright eyes, then?" Charlie asked.

"I guess so, but I don't. I guess I have my fathers genes."

"This is fascinating", Bill whispered to himself. I pulled out my DADA book and began reading.

"You like Defence Against the Dark Arts?" Tonks asked.

"Didn't you hear her, Tonks? She takes after her father," Charlie laughed.

I looked up from my book momentarily and then looked back down. Bill, Charlie and Tonks all laughed, but begun going about their business. I looked out the window, to see the scenery. Soon enough, I'll be at Hogwarts and my life will really begin.


	5. Slytherin

**A/N: Thank you so much to those who have subscribed to my story. Hopefully this chapter makes you happy. I've decided to make the Hogwarts years go quickly, because they're not really important, apart from the friendship between Isabel and her closest friends, and also the relationship between Severus Snape and Isabel, of course.**

**Anyway, this chapter has a bit more Isabel/Tonks/Bill/Charlie friendship in it, which is pretty cool. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

The train began to slow down as it pulled into the station. I tried to see out the window to catch a glimpse of Hogwarts, but I had no luck. I was so eager to walk into the castle for the first time. Hogwarts was going to be my home for the next seven years, I had to see if it was what I dreamed of. I hoped it would not be a disappointment.

"First years go a different way then the rest of us," Bill said to me. "You go by boats to the castle, it's a fantastic experience. Hopefully we'll see you soon."

Bill, Tonks and Charlie stood up and left the compartment, to my disappointment. I was now alone, and I was scared. I knew no one apart from Bill, Tonks and Charlie. No one knew I existed, either. I was Professor Snape's unknown daughter.

"This is going to be such fun," I whispered to myself before sighing. I stood up and left my compartment, facing my destiny.

* * *

Soon enough, I was sitting in a boat along with three other first years - Marcus Flint, Olivia Wallace and Cenella Lowes. Marcus Flint was an ugly looking child. He looked a little bit like those trolls in the books Fleur and I used to read. Cenella and Olivia were both as shy as I was, but as soon as we all introduced ourselves, they began to come out of their shells. Marcus and Olivia decided that we should show each other our wands. I, unfortunately, was no exception.

"Can we see your wand, Isabel?" Olivia asked me. I hesitated, but realised I would be making no friends by not doing what I was told.

"Of course," I replied, pulling out my wand.

"What is it?" Marcus enquired.

"Hawthorn, 11 Inches" I replied.

"The core?" Marcus questioned, eagerly.

"Dragon Heartstring." They all looked intriguingly at my wand. I put it away in my robe. My robes fitted very well. I liked them. It made me feel like I belonged to something.

* * *

We reached the boathouse and got out of the boats. I looked up and realised I was standing at the foot of Hogwarts. I stared up at the castle in amazement. It was beautiful. I had never seen something more breathtaking in my whole life. It was all lit up, which made it that extra bit special. I smiled, because this place felt like the place I belonged. Maybe the next seven years weren't going to be so bad.

* * *

We made our way into the castle, each of us pointing and staring at the interior of the castle in amazement. We were greeted by a witch in front of two large doors, and I presumed she was a teacher.

"My name is Professor McGonagall. You will soon be making your way into the Great Hall and it is there that you will be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Please wait here," she said before turning her back to us and walking into the Great Hall. People began whispering among themselves, obviously about the houses. Olivia Wallace nudged my elbow and leaned over to me.

"What do you think? What house will you be in?" She whispered to me.

"Slytherin," I replied, without thinking.

"Oh, why do you think that?"

"I just have a feeling. How about you?"

"I reckon I'll be in Ravenclaw." Everyone went silent as Professor McGonagall walked back out from the two doors.

"We're ready for you now" she announced. She walked into the Great Hall, and we followed. All the students, sitting in their houses, were applauding. We walked past a very long table and sitting there was Bill and Charlie. I smiled at them before they both gave me 2 thumbs up. The first years walked to the front of the Great Hall and stopped to see an old hat on a stool. To my complete shock, it began to sing a song about all the houses. I guess I had prepared myself for many surprised, but a singing hat? As the hat sung, I began to question what house I wanted to be in. Did I really want to be in Slytherin house? Tonks, Bill and Charlie weren't in Slytherin. Now I was beginning to get worried.

The old hat had stopped singing and McGonagall took out a long list of names.

"When I call your name come so I can place the sorting hat on your head. After you are placed in a house, you may join the table."

The list of people before me went on and on, and I was getting even more nervous by the second. I glanced up at the long table of teachers and there was Father, looking right at me. I almost forgot he was here. We were both in an uncomfortable position, seeing as no one knew I existed before I came here. I sighed, knowing I was going to receive a lot of unwanted attention for this.

"Isabel Snape," McGonagall called. I looked up at Father as whispers broke out. Some of the teachers even seemed surprised. I glanced around at the room to see most people still gossiping about me. I could hear what some people were saying.

_"Is that Professor Snape's daughter?"_

_"Snape? He has a daughter? I didn't know he had a wife..."_

_"That slimy git can't have a wife, idiot. He's as ugly as a troll!"_

_"She's too pretty to be the daughter of him. Adopted, maybe?"_

I walked to the stool slowly as Father watched on intently. I sat down on the stool and the hat was placed on my head.

"Aha! Another Snape. I didn't know Severus had a daughter, but then again, no one did. Seeing as you take after your Father there seems to be only one place to put you. SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table erupted as I stood up from the stool and made my way to the table. Father was clapping and he seemed somewhat proud of me. I sat down at the table and scanned the room. I saw Tonks and she looked disappointed. I had heard earlier that people didn't like Slytherin. I guess thats why she suddenly didn't want to look at me. Dumbledore made his speech and the feast was finished, it was time to visit the Slytherin common room.

* * *

The days went past and I was settling into Hogwarts well. Father and I didn't talk a whole lot. We only really talked when we passed each other in the corridors. I didn't mind. I guess he had better things to do. I didn't want to put more fuel into the fire, either. The whole school was buzzing about how their Potions Master had a daughter. Even more disappointing, Bill, Charlie and Tonks haven't talked to me since that night on the train. I didn't understand why they had a problem with me being in Slytherin. I guess I had no support except the letters I was receiving, reminding me that I had Mother and Fleur for support. I sat in the library and read another of my letters.

**_Dear Isabel,_**

**_Your wand sounds amazing. I wish I had a wand._**

**_I guess I'll get one soon though,_**

**_Mother misses you dearly._**

**_She seems to be struggling without you._**

**_What is Hogwarts like?_**

**_Is it big? What are the classes like?_**

**_Have you made any friends?_**

**_I miss you more and more every day._**

**_I wish I could come to Hogwarts and not have to go to Beauxbatons._**

**_I miss you dearly._**

**_Love,_**

**_Fleur_**

I got out my quill, ink and paper, but just as I started to write, Bill, Tonks and Charlie joined me. I wondered why they were sitting with me.

"I thought you weren't talking to me," I said bluntly.

"Sorry," Tonks replied. So 'sorry' was all she could say to me? It was a complete kick in the guts.

"Can I ask why?" I asked, getting a little upset.

"You're a Slytherin! There's practically no witch or wizard that have been in Slytherin that haven't gone bad!" Charlie exclaimed. What? Who said that? It couldn't be true.

"My father was a Slytherin!" I protested, crossing my arms.

"Hey, Charlie! My mum was Slytherin, too," Tonks said.

"Then why weren't you talking to me?" I questioned them, raising my eyebrows. I suspected there were no real reasons at all apart from being in Slytherin. And Professor Snape's daughter.

"Never mind, Isabel. Don't worry about these two. We're sorry. Really," Bill said. I nodded, accepting the apology. I couldn't stay angry at them forever. They were the only friends I had.

"Who are you writing to?" Charlie asked.

"My sister. Well, half sister. Same mother."

"What's her name?" Tonks asked.

"Fleur," I replied. Tonks smiled.

"That's a pretty name." I nodded and went back to writing my letter. Bill, Charlie and Tonks all got out their respective studying books and began studying.

**_Dear Fleur,_**

**_I miss you so much._**

**_Don't worry, you'll get your wand soon enough._**

**_I'm miss mother dearly too._**

**_Help her, Fleur. You're a big girl._**

**_I know you can be a big girl._**

**_Hogwarts us amazing. It's huge._**

**_I am in Slytherin house. Father was too._**

**_My classes are good. My favourite is Defence Against the Dark Arts._**

**_I've made a few friends._**

**_Their names are Bill, Tonks and Charlie._**

**_Tonks' real name is Nymphadora, but she doesn't like it._**

**_Give mother a big hug for me._**

**_Stay strong._**

**_Love you always,_**

**_Isabel._**

I finished writing my letter and put it in the envelope.

"Finished?" Charlie asked. I nodded and wrote 'Fleur Delacour' on the front of the envelope.

"I can send it, if you'd like. I know your owl. Everyone knows your owl. It's jet black with golden eyes and it's name is Marieke," Bill said.

"Yes, thank you," I replied, smiling. "How did you know about my owl?"

"Er - word gets around. You're kind of the talk of the whole school at the moment," Bill said to me. Of course, people were talking about me, but I was surprised to know word had been spread about my owl.

"Isabel," a cold voice said from behind me. Tonks, Bill and Charlie all looked up. I knew who it was as soon as I saw their reaction.

"Hello...Father" I choked out. I was nervous. Father made me on edge. I never knew if he was going to tell me off or not.

"Studying?" He asked, looking down at my 3 friends, obviously not approving of my choice of friends.

"I was just writing a letter to Fleur, but I'll begin my Defence Against the Dark Arts study soon," I replied. He looked coldly at the four of us and let out a soft grunt. He have one nod and walked away. I sighed, sitting back in my chair. That could have been a lot worse.

"Is he always that...intimidating?" Tonks asked.

"Most of the time," I replied.

"Is he ever the father type?" Tonks said.

"No. Not really." I sighed and took out my Defence Against the Dark Arts book. Bill and Charlie shrugged and went back to what they were doing, but Tonks was looking at me, sadness filling her eyes. She pitied me, I could tell. I put my head down in my book and began reading.

"Does that interest you?" Charlie asked. I nodded and Tonks grinned.

"Same as me," she said, "We can both become Aurors."

"Aurors?" I asked Tonks. She raised her eyebrows and changed her hair colour to light blue, which made me giggle a little. Tonks giggled back and leaned over the table.

"Aurors are dark wizard catchers. Defenders against the dark arts as such. I've always wanted to become an Auror. You should become one too, if you're interested."

"I'm very interested" I said. Being an Auror sounded brilliant. I'd be putting my life on the line, but I'd be prepared to do that. I'd be prepared to do that to fight for what's right in the world.

"Tonks, she's in her first year here, no need to go load her with career choices," Bill said. Tonks and I laughed and both nodded. I looked back down at my book. All these spells I needed to learn...so many spells.

* * *

The next day I walked into Potions and sat next to Marcus Flint. I would have never done it willingly, but unfortunately, it was the only seat left. Silence fell over the room as Father walked in. Everyone's eyes turned to me. I was getting annoyed at the extra attention.

I'm very good at Potions. Better than everyone else in this class. I think it's because of my book. Mine has additional writing - Fathers writing. I also think I inherited the talent from him. I'll only get better and better with him around, and he'll help me do that.

"I will say your names. You will listen and reply at the appropriate times," Father announced. He continued reading down the list and stopped at me.

"Isabel Snape." Kids began to snigger at me, but I held my head high.

"Here...Professor." It was weird calling Father Professor. The other kids would whisper when he talked to me or I talked to him. Sometimes I felt like stunning them.

The rest of the year went quite smoothly. Father was happy that I did well in school and that just some of my best results were in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions. However, he wasn't too happy though about my choice of friends. As the year went on, I grew so much closer to Tonks, Bill and Charlie. They all protected me. Tonks was like my weird older sister. Charlie was like my over protective brother and Bill was like my own personal bodyguard, and looked at any moment that he'd jump in front of me and save my life. I adored each of them and I was so lucky to have them in my life.

* * *

The school year had ended and I was back home at Spinners End. Fleur and I would still write to each other, once a week. How I missed my sister dearly. Father would still have me studying, but not as much as I would during the school year or nearing the school year. It didn't bother me when I was studying about Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions, but I hated everything else.

"Isabel," Father called. I ran towards the door of his study and walked in quietly.

"Yes, Father?"

"Your mother sent you these" he said, pointing his wand to the box on his desk. I took the box off his desk and took it back to my room. I opened it to see a long black robe. I loved it. It was tight around the top and the middle, but flowing down the bottom, with purple patterning in the middle. It was quite elegant. I smiled and looked at the note.

**_'A gift for your success this year._**

**_Love Mother & Fleur xxx'_**


	6. Purity

**A/N: Yay! I got my first reviews! Thank you to BellamortFan01 & SweetieCherrie! You guys made my week =)**

**To BellamortFan01 - Yes, I know the timelines don't match up sometimes, it gets a little confusing for me sometimes too. You can private message me if you want to know anything extra =)**

**I am rushing her years, at Hogwarts, like I said earlier. This is because I really don't think its crucial for you to really know Isabel in her Hogwarts years. And I'm really anxious to get to her post-Hogwarts years.**

**Anyway, lets get on with it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I do however, own Isabel Snape, so haha!**

* * *

The years I spent at Hogwarts flew by. Charlie, Bill and Tonks had all left Hogwarts, to my dismay. My best friends were now Percy Weasley, Bill and Charlie's younger brother, and Oliver Wood, another Gryffindor. They were both only a year younger than me. I missed having Charlie, Bill and Tonks around, though. I missed their humour and the way they'd protect me. I missed having people I could relate to. We were different. We were like outcasts.

* * *

It was now my sixth year at Hogwarts, and once again, I was sitting through another house sorting. It was funny, it seemed as if the first years were becoming smaller every year.

"Draco Malfoy!" McGonagall called out. That name clicked in my head. I had heard of the last name Malfoy before. I swear I've heard Father speaking to a Malfoy one time.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat yelled out as the hat barely touched his head. Draco made his way over to our table and sat down next to me.

"Hello," he said, looking at me. I glanced down at the small boy with platinum blond hair and grey eyes.

"Hello, Draco," I replied, holding back the urge to laugh. Wouldn't he be scared of me? Bet he doesn't know who I am.

"Don't call me Draco! It's Malfoy!" He snapped. "Who are you?"

"Isabel Snape," I told him.

"You're Professor Snape's daughter?"

"Yes, I am."

"I've heard things about you. My father and your father talk sometimes," Draco said. I knew I wasn't lying when I said that I'd heard the Malfoy name before! "Will you tutor me? Father said I need a role model. Someone smart. Someone in Slytherin."

I laughed again "If you behave well enough, sure. If you do anything against the rules of Hogwarts, I don't think it'll be happening." Draco nodded and turned away from me. He was going to be interesting. I could just tell.

* * *

The sorting ceremony continued, and to the surprise of everyone in the hall, Harry Potter had been called up, and was sorted into Gryffindor. The Harry Potter was now attending Hogwarts. My attention turned back to the sorting ceremony, as Professor McGonagall looked down at the first years.

"Ronald Weasley," McGonagall called. Another Weasley. Ronald had now joined his brothers Percy, Fred and George at Hogwarts. Gryffindor for sure, if he's anything like his other brothers.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Knew it. He was a Weasley, after all.

* * *

My first few days back at Hogwarts were frustrating, scary and stressful. Father told me I had to tutor Draco. I didn't have any choice. He seemed like an interesting character, I just wasn't sure whether I was going to get to know the real Draco.

"Hello Malfoy," I said, walking into an empty classroom, making sure not to call him Draco.

"Hello, Isabel," he replied.

"Ready for your first lesson?" I asked.

"I was born ready. I'm going to be excellent at this," he replied. Draco was much too cocky already.

"Well, we'll start with the DADA basics, shall we? Now the essential spell I want you to know...that you won't probably learn this year is Expelliarmus."

"Expelliarmus?"

"Yes, like this" I said, turning to the wooden figure in the middle of the room and pointing my wand at it.

"Expelliarmus!" I said. The wooden figure's wand shot out of it's hand.

"Cool," I heard Draco mutter.

"That spell basically does anything to disarm your opponent."

"That's really cool. Can I try?"

I laughed, "go ahead."

* * *

Draco seemed to be really enjoying our lessons. He was quite a skilled and bright young wizard. I enjoyed his company, too. He wasn't much of a brat around me. I thought him being a rich, only child, he'd be a brat. Draco and I had tutoring three times a week. I must admit that it was the best part of my day, apart from DADA.

* * *

I was headed to the library to study when I bumped into a first year. All my books fell from my arms and I sighed. I never had good luck. I picked up my books from the ground, shaking my head. First years...always getting in the way. I looked up to see a boy with scruffy black hair, a lightening scar and round glasses. I then realised who it was, and I couldn't believe it.

"Hello," I said, trying to stay calm.

"Um hello. I'm sorry," he said. He was a shy boy, but that was understandable. "I didn't watch where I was going. It was rude of me. I am really sorry."

"That's no problem, really." Harry tilted his head to the side, as if he were pondering something.

"You look familiar." I knew it was because of my father.

"Oh, sorry. Isabel Snape."

"S...S...Snape?"

"Yes, Professor Snape's daughter," I said before he could go on. I didn't want any questions.

"Pleased to meet you...Isabel. I'm Harry." I smiled as Harry extended his hand. I shook his hand and nodded.

"I know who you are, Harry," I said to him. I tried to keep it cool and not ask any questions. I didn't want to freak him out. "Where are you headed?"

"The library, although I'm not entirely sure how to get there."

"I'm headed there too! Come along, Harry. I'll show you how to get there."

"Great, thanks," he said, as he followed me to the library.

* * *

Harry and I walked along the halls until we reached the library. He was a lot more open than I thought he'd be. Harry smiled and said his goodbyes to me before walking off. I took out the envelope hidden in my robes and opened it.

**_Dear Isabel,_**

**_How is your schooling going?_**

**_Mine is doing very well._**

**_Beauxbatons hasn't changed much this year._**

**_My best class is Charms._**

**_Mother says that Charms are important._**

**_Are you still doing well at Potions,_**

**_and Defence Against the Dark Arts?_**

**_Let me know._**

**_My friends are well._**

**_Are you alright without Tonks, Bill and Charlie still?_**

**_How are Oliver and Percy?_**

**_And how is the tutoring with Draco going?_**

**_Still missing you..._**

**_Fleur x_**

I stood up and took my things. Here was not the place for me to be writing the letter to Fleur. It didn't feel like the place. I made my way back to the Slytherin common room and set myself down at a table. As I got out my quill, ink and paper, Draco popped up next to me.

"Hello, Belle," he said, grinning.

"When did I ever say you could call me Belle?"

"Well, it's either that or Snape. And I think Belle suits you well enough."

"Well, fine. Hello to you too...Malfoy," I replied, not daring to use the name Draco.

"What are you up to?" he asked.

"Writing to Fleur."

"What fun," he said, sarcastically.

"Thank you for your input, Mr. Malfoy," I replied.

"No problem," he said. I rolled my eyes and sighed. He could be such a smart arse sometimes. No, wait. He's not a smart arse sometimes, he's a smart arse 90% of the time.

**_Dear Fleur,_**

**_My schooling is going well._**

**_I think I am getting wiser and wiser each day._**

**_I am so glad that your schooling is going well._**

**_I don't know why you like Charms so much._**

**_It annoys me._**

**_Tell mother that Charms may be important,_**

**_but they're boring._**

**_Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts are going well._**

**_I'm getting better and better each day._**

**_I'm alright without Bill, Tonks and Charlie._**

**_I never get to see them, and we hardly write to each other,_**

**_which is a little disappointing._**

**_I miss them._**

**_Oliver and Percy are well._**

**_As is Draco. He's sitting next to me now._**

**_Our lessons are going well._**

**_He's very bright and capable,_**

**_but he can be a little smart arse._**

**_I miss you too,_**

**_Isabel x_**

"Little corny, isn't it?" Draco laughed. I pulled out my wand and pointed it at him, knowing it would scare the life out of him.

"Funny, is it?" I asked, my wand still pointed. I could swear Draco started to shake.

"Sorry! Sorry!" he cried. I lowered my wand and put it away, smiling.

"Thank you," Draco sighed, looking relieved.

"How is your studying going?" I asked. Draco passed me his Defence Against the Dark Arts notes. I flicked through them quickly and smiled to myself. He's talented. Very, very talented. And he's only in his first year.

"They're good," I told him, passing him his notes back.

"Can I ask you something, Belle?"

I nodded "go ahead."

"Do you believe in blood purity? Do you think those kind of people...you know...the people without wizard parents deserve to be here? Personally I don't think they do."

I coughed. And coughed. And coughed again. I'm not pureblood. I don't think he knows that Father and I are both half bloods. And you know what, I'd probably hate being pureblood. I never questioned people's blood status'. Magic was not reserved for purebloods.

"No, I don't. And Draco, whatever your parents, especially your Father, is drilling into your head, don't believe it. You are your own person and you can make your own decisions. Don't go calling people mudbloods when they're the same, magical, just like you."

"Don't call me Draco!" he snapped at me. I packed up my things and stormed up to the girls dormitories. I collapsed on my bed and felt like crap. I can't believe he asked me that...

* * *

The year, once again was finished. My relationship with Draco was tainted, very tainted.

'_Flashback'_

_"Now, you see this, Malfoy. This is Petrificus Totalus. It's used to stun your enemy or whatever."_

_"Guess so."_

_"Pay attention."_

_"It's hard for me! Look, Belle...please."_

_"Malfoy, it's Isabel or Snape. Don't call me Belle."_

_"Sorry."_

_"Stay on task."_

_"I'm sorry! I'm trying."_

_"Not hard enough, Malfoy."_

_"You're just too pushy. I am sick of you being such a witch to me! I'm only 11!"_

_I threw my book and the wall and took out my wand, pointing it at him. "Do you want to continue these lessons?" I asked. Draco nodded. "Good. No backchat, just do what I say" I spat._

_End Flashback_

* * *

Father, again, was happy with my academic achievements. I got Outstandings in Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes and Herbology. Charms - Exceeds Expectations.

"You did very well this year," Father told me.

"Thank you, Father."

"How did you find Mr. Malfoy?"

"Draco? Oh, he's...very talented. I see a lot of potential."

"So do I."

"He did ask me something a little disturbing though."

"Which was?"

"He asked me about blood purity..." Father raised his eyebrows and his eyes went darker than they are. Is there something I don't know?

"Interesting," he said, coldly. He dismissed me with a grunt and changed the subject.

"Your mother sent more of those black and purple robes you like wearing over."

"Oh," I said. I guess I was satisfied with that. What I wasn't satisfied with was something else. Something else that was burning inside me to say.

"Are you proud of me?" I blurted out. Father looked completely shocked at what I had just said to him.

"Please. I need to know. Are you proud of me?"

"Isabel, your marks have been incredible."

"Oh, the marks can go to hell for all I care. I need to know if you are proud of me because I have never really had the father figure in my life! I need you there with me 100% of the way, Father. I need you to hold me when I cry, and I need you to say you love me before I go to bed. I need you not to be just a father, but to be a dad."

"Isabel...you need to understand something..."

"No! I don't. You need to understand where I am coming from!"

I stood up and stormed off to my room and slammed my foot. Marieke flapped her wings and looked at me with her golden eyes, as if to say she were sorry and that she was concerned. I wished that Father would be more daddy like. I wished he would kiss me on the head before I went to bed at night. I wish he would say that he's proud of me every day. Be won't. He never will.


	7. Petrificus Totalus

**A/N: Firstly, I'd just like to say that Isabel does not really show any Veela characteristics. The only things you could point out is that she is a beautiful young woman and her skin is pale. Those are the only two Veela characteristics she shows. She has inherited most of her fathers genes. Just pointing that out.**

**I've been writing like crazy over the past few days, and I'm up to the more interesting chapters (just dropping subtle hints...)**

**I'd also like to thank those who reviewed this story, you continue to make me extremely happy =)**

**Disclaimer: The amazing J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter. I think I owe my life to that woman. Harry Potter keeps me sane.**

**

* * *

**

**_Dear Fleur,_**

**_My Hogwarts graduation was last night._**

**_After all that happened with the Chamber of Secrets,_**

**_we finally had out special night._**

**_The exams were cancelled this year, but I took them anyway._**

**_I asked Father to ask Dumbledore if I could do them._**

**_He said yes, and I did well._**

**_I got Outstandings again in Defence Against the Dark Arts_**

**_and Potions again. Nothing's changed._**

**_I also got Outstandings in plenty of other subjects too,_**

**_but it's proved that being an Auror is the right job for me._**

**_How is Beauxbatons going? I hope you excel in your studies._**

**_Send me a picture of Gabrielle. I want to see how big she_**

**_looks now._**

**_All my love,_**

**_Isabel x_**

I had finished my letter and sent it. I would be leaving Hogwarts for the last time soon. Saying goodbye to Percy and Oliver was fine, they were a little emotional, but it was alright. Draco, was a different story. We didn't really talk at all apart from his tutoring, which were just lessons now. I talk, he listened. He asked an academic question, I answered. To be honest, I missed his jokes, his smart ass grins, his personal questions...all that. He made everything easy for a while, but after the whole blood purity thing...our friendship just fell apart. I packed up my trunk and my other things and began walking down the stairs.

"Isabel" Father said, greeting me in the common room, "Dumbledore wants to see you in his office." Dumbledore? What for? Was I in trouble?

"Of course, Father" I said, composing myself. I left the Slytherin common room quickly, leaving Father behind. This was serious business. Why would Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of all time, want to speak to me? Was it because I wanted to become an Auror? I was met by Professor McGonagall at the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Sherbet Lemon" she said as we walked into the entrance. Soon enough, stairs appeared and we walked up to Dumbledore's office.

"What's this about?" I asked.

"You'll see, dear" she replied.

"Hello, Miss Snape. I've been expecting you" Dumbledore said.

"Apparently so" I muttered under my breath.

"I presume your wondering why I called you here."

"Yes, I am wondering."

"Isabel, excuse me, Miss Snape, it seems your Defence Against the Dark Arts skills are astounding. Truly astounding. But it seems I must disappoint you. You see, your father told me of your desire to be an Auror, but it sees the Auror office are not taking in new Aurors. However, we need your skills put to good use, and I have not seen a skilled student, such as yourself for a long time here at Hogwarts. I will be contacting you, shortly."

"Thank you, sir" I said, disappointed.

"I am very sorry, dear. Bad luck" Professor McGonagall said, "you are very talented. An opportunity will come around soon. Your father must be proud of you, regardless." I coughed. It seemed I was choking on my words. Father, proud of me? Not bloody likely. All he cared about was showing the wizarding world that his daughter was a very good academic student, and that she wasn't a failure.

"You may leave now, you mustn't miss your train home" Dumbledore told me.

"Thank you sir" I replied, frowning. I left Dumbledore's office and started walking back to the common room.

* * *

"Isabel" Father called after me, his tone cold. "I sent your baggage to the train, you don't need to go back to the common room."

"Thank you, Father" I said, sarcastically.

"What did Professor Dumbledore say to you?" he asked.

"It's none of your business" I replied, rudely.

"How dare you treat me with no respect! You WILL tell me." I pulled out my wand and pointed it at my father.

"Make me."

"What is this all about?" he enquired.

"You're not proud of me! You don't care about me!"

"Nonsense."

"Show it then!"

"I am trying!"

"Doesn't seem like it..."

"Your school results were brilliant. Now you can become an Auror."

"This is not about school results. This is about you and me. We're supposed to be a family and you just don't treat me like it."

"Isabel, this is hard for me too."

"You've been with me for years. I came to you when I was 11 and now I'm 17. It shouldn't be hard anymore!"

"Well it is. What else do you want from me?"

I rolled my eyes and stormed off. "You will never understand!" I yelled. I walked around the corner to see Draco, listening to our conversation.

"Like to eavesdrop, Malfoy?"

"Sorry...Isabel. I was coming to find you actually.

"Well, what is it?"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. For everything. You were the nicest friend I had and the only real friend I had." I had to smile. I felt sorry for Draco, actually.

"Apology accepted" I said, smiling. "Now come on, we've got a train to catch."

Draco and I made our way through the Hogwarts corridors to get to the train. I would miss this place. I'd miss my friends, I'd miss watching Wood getting all fired up over Quidditch, I'd miss sitting in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions, I'd miss just about everything. Draco and I made our way onto the train platform and I looked around. Draco looked as if he were losing his patience, so I made my way onto the train and into a compartment, as he followed.

* * *

"Will you miss Hogwarts?" he asked as the train began to move.

"Yes, I think I will."

"Will you miss me?" Draco asked.

"Yes, of course I will. You're a good friend." He grinned. He was obviously proud that me made it onto my friends list.

"Are you going to live back at your fathers?"

"Yes, I'll stay with Father" I replied, "I was kicked out of my Mothers by my step father when he found out I wasn't his child. I haven't seen Mother of Fleur in six years."

"I'm sorry"

"Don't be...I wanted to know my dad, and I faced the consequences. Now over to this summer. I want you to study at least a little bit. Don't go getting lazy just because I'm bit around."

"Of course." Draco laughed.

"Are you looking forward to going home?" I asked.

"I'm looking forward to seeing Mother. My father...not so much."

"Your father?"

"I hate him. I really hate him."

"Why?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"I'm sorry" I said. Draco looked around and fell silent. He obviously didn't want to talk anymore. I turned and looked out the window. This will be my last ride ever on the Hogwarts express. Hard to believe, really. These years have been hard. Especially between Father and I. There's only been a few Father/Daughter moments.

* * *

'_Flashback'_

_Fifth Year_

_There I sat, midnight in the middle of the Slytherin common room, crying. I heard a door slam and I looked up. There was Father, his dark eyes looking down on me._

"_Shouldn't you be in bed?" Father said._

"_Sorry Father. I'll be going" I stood up and began walking towards the girls dormitories."_

"_Why were you crying?" he asked, standing up and sitting me back down._

"_No reason" I lied._

"_Tell me, Isabel. Now."_

"_There were a few girls making fun of me..."_

"_Why would they be making fun of you? What did they say?" I cried for a little longer and I hugged him. He froze, not knowing what to do. I looked up at him and let go. I wiped my tears and sighed._

"_They called me Slutty Skanky Snape, all because I'm friends with Oliver Wood and Percy Weasley. And because I've been tutoring Draco." Father looked shocked._

"_You are neither. You are above them...we are above them."_

_End of Flashback_

_

* * *

_

We arrived at Kings Cross Station after a very long train ride. Draco and I stepped out onto the platform with out possessions and turned to each other.

"I guess this is goodbye" Draco said, sounding sad.

"This is not goodbye forever, Malfoy."

"You're the best friend I've ever had. And the best teacher. Thanks, Belle"

I started to tear up "no, thank you."

"Draco!" A woman's voice called. I turned around to see a very pretty woman standing there.

"Mother!" Draco said, walking towards her with his belongings. She kissed him on the cheek and hugged him. I smiled and turned away. Draco was in good hands.

* * *

I stood in the kitchen of my home at Spinners End. I felt lonely because Father wasn't home from Hogwarts yet. At least I could practice my spells now. Father hated me practicing my spells, just incase I ruined all of his books. I took out my N.E.W.T results and looked at them.

Defence Against the Dark Arts - Outstanding

Potions - Outstanding

Herbology - Outstanding

Transfiguration - Outstanding

Charms - Outstanding

History of Magic - Outstanding

Astronomy - Exceeds Expectations

Look at that. I had all the makings of an Auror, but to hear they weren't accepting anyone anymore made me sad, and quite depressed. Suddenly, there was a loud bang. I ran into Father's study to see a man, a scraggly, scary looking man standing there. He growled at me and I screamed. I pulled my wand out and pointed it at him.

"Well aren't you a pretty girl" he said darkly" we could use you very well."

"Don't you dare come near me" I yelled at him. He laughed and moved closer.

"Don't be scared of me, my sweetheart. We're going to become very good friends." This was the time, Isabel. Save yourself.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS" I said quickly. The man froze and fell backwards. I looked down the hallway to see Father running towards me.

"Whats going on here?" he asked. I pointed my wand towards the frozen man. Shock came over his face.

"Get out" he said softly "it's too dangerous for you, go...now!" I ran to my room, grabbed a bag. Stuffed some clothes and a few other belongings. Grabbed the photo of Fleur, Mother and I and grabbed the photo of Father and I and ran outside. I then looked around to see if the coast was clear. It was. I then apparated out of Spinners End, and away from Father.


	8. Shelter

**A/N: Wasn't that a scary end to a chapter, haha. I wasn't planning on writing that in, but it seemed to click. When I talk about Isabel's clothing in the middle of the chapter, think Narcissa Malfoy in the Deathly Hallows Part 1. It was very hard to explain what Isabel was wearing. And as a note for future reference, it's her trademark clothing. So she kinda wears it everywhere. Thank you for the reviews, I appreciate them. Keep em' coming!**

**Disclaimer: I've repeated this several times. I think you get the message. I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I arrived outside a house. I didn't know this house. I had never seen if before in my life. I wondered if I should go in or not, because I had no idea who was inside of it.

"Isabel," I whispered to myself, "get it together. We have to go in there. There's no other place we can go." I walked to the front door slowly, and opened it with caution. As I walked inside the house, I accidentally slammed the door behind me,

"WHAT WAS THAT?" I heard a familiar voice yell.

"Wand out, darling," an older woman's voice said. I froze as I heard footsteps coming from the next room to the front door. To my surprise, two witches, one with bubblegum pink hair and the other with black hair, walked around the corner from the other room and began to stare at me. My make up had run because I'd been crying, so I would probably be looking like a freak.

"Isabel!" The younger witch exclaimed, running to me and jumping into my arms. I wrapped my arms around Tonks and cried on her arm. I just needed her to hold me for a second, just to know I was safe.

"Hey, Tonks," I whimpered onto her shoulder. She let go of me and half smiled, before turning to the other woman in this room.

"Mum, this is Isabel Snape. Isabel, this is my mum, Andromeda." I looked at Andromeda and smiled.

"Hello," I said quietly. She smiled and walked over to me.

"Hello, dear. You look like you need a bit of tea. Nymphadora, take Isabel to the living room. I think we need to cheer her up a bit."

* * *

I sat next to Tonks as Andromeda sat opposite me. They both looked extremely concerned. Was it because my make up was running, I was wearing black robes and I just looked very dark? Maybe because Tonks hadn't seen me in a long time, and Andromeda never met me before, they thought I wasn't to be trusted. Andromeda poured me a cup of tea and handed it over.

"Now, what happened to you?" Andromeda asked.

"Well...I...just...got...home..." I cried, trying to gather myself.

"Take a deep breath," Tonks whispered. I breathed in, then breathed out.

"Start again," Tonks said.

"I just got home from Hogwarts, because you know, I graduated. And I was in the kitchen when I heard a loud bang. I ran into Fathers office to see a big scraggly man standing there. He was trying to lure me in and I was so scared. Then I stunned him. Father arrived shortly afterwards and told me to leave. So I gathered my things and apparated here. I left Father there, by himself. I left him with that...that...man."

"Who was it?" Tonks asked.

"Scraggly...big...sounds like Greyback," Andromeda said.

"Greyback?" I asked Andromeda. Who was this Greyback she was speaking of?

"Werewolf. He uses it to his advantage. He's dangerous, Isabel. You're lucky you were able to stun him," Andromeda replied. Werewolf? That's why he looked as scary as he did. How was I able to stun someone like him?

"Will Father be alright? I'm worried sick." As much as Father and I weren't getting along at the moment, he was still my dad. I would never forgive myself if something happened to him over me.

"Your father is a highly capable wizard. He'll be fine," Andromeda said, trying to assure me, shooting me a half smile.

"I'll show you to your room. You are staying, aren't you?" Tonks enquired.

"Yes, I'll stay. If I'm welcome to." I looked to Andromeda, wanting her approval. I didn't want to intrude.

"Of course, darling," Andromeda said, smiling. "You are welcome at any time."

"Yes!" Tonks exclaimed. She began to pull me up some stairs. We reached the top and she walked to the end of the hall. She opened the door and there was a small room, with shelves full of books and a bed. This was just what I needed at the moment.

"This is where you'll be staying."

"Thanks, Tonks. I appreciate this a lot."

"You're one of my best friends...it's the least I could do. So, Snapie, when are you becoming an Auror? I could use a friend during training." I coughed nervously and wiped a few tears.

"I'm not."

"Not what?"

"Joining the Aurors. They said they weren't accepting new Aurors."

"You're kidding! You're so talented! How did you find out?"

"Dumbledore told me."

"He told you himself?" I nodded. Tonks seemed quite saddened by all of this.

"But he said he needs me for work like this. And he said he'll be contacting me shortly." I wondered what work Dumbledore would have for me. Knowing him, it'd be something completely out of the ordinary.

"That's weird," Tonks muttered, turning her hair blue.

"Yeah, it is," I muttered in return.

"Nymphadora! Dora! Where are you, Nymphadora?" a man's voice called.

"In here, Dad!" She called back, rolling her eyes. A few seconds later, Tonks' dad appeared at the door. He wasn't as I thought he would be. He was very plain, but with a warm smile and a joyful look in his eyes.

"Hello, Dora!" He said smiling.

"Hi Dad," she replied.

"Who's this?" he asked, looking at me.

"Oh, sorry Dad. This is Isabel. Isabel, this is my dad, Ted."

"So you're Isabel Snape? Dora's told Andromeda and I all about you!" Great, another person that has been talking about me. I wonder how long until the questions about my father come up.

"How long will you be staying with us?" Ted enquired.

"Until...um...I'm not so sure at the moment," I replied."I won't be in your hair too long. I promise."

"Nonsense, nonsense. Andromeda and I are very happy to have you. Any friend of Dora's is a friend of ours," he said before walking off. I turned to Tonks, who was grinning.

"What?" I asked her.

"I have the greatest plan ever! I have the day off from Auror training tomorrow and I think we should go pay someone a visit."

"Alright. Whatever you say."

"It's been a long day, hasn't it? Would you like to get some rest?"

"Yes, if you wouldn't mind." Tonks nodded and smiled.

"Night Isabel."

"Night Tonks."

* * *

That night I had a terrible dream. Father was being attacked by that awful man and I couldn't stop it. No matter how many spells I shot at Greyback, they just rebounded off him. Father was close to dying and I kept shooting spells. Greyback turned towards me and I backed off a little. Thats when I screamed.

"Sectumsempra!"

Greyback was hit and Father survived. That's when it hit me. Father was trying to be good to me, he just didn't know how. He was a very private man, and I didn't appear to be helping that. God, I felt terrible. He'd been trying and I had been throwing it back in his face.

* * *

The next morning I woke up to the sound of Tonks annoying her parents.

"Nymphadora! Will you stop that!"

"Aw, mum! You're ruining all my fun."

"It's not fun for me, Dora. Now stop it!"

I stood up out of bed and made my way down to the kitchen to see Tonks sitting on the kitchen bench.

"Wotcher, Isabel," Tonks said, greeting me cheerfully.

"Good morning, darling. How are you?" Andromeda asked with a concerned face. I already liked Andromeda. She was genuinely kind.

"I'm feeling better. The sleep did me good," I replied, smiling. It wasn't a beaming smile, but seeing as I was nearly attacked by a werewolf, I don't think anyone would be overly concerned if my smile was glowing or not.

"Well, have some breakfast and get ready. We're going to - whoops! I nearly told you the surprise location!" Tonks laughed. How someone like me - serious, academically minded and well, a Slytherin, became friends with her - silly, fun, bright and a Hufflepuff - is beyond me. I ate my breakfast and had my pumpkin juice and then went to get ready. I looked through my bag and chose my black dress. It was tight around the top half of my body, and long sleeved, and the bottom half just flowed down to the bottom. I took out my tight, black blazer, put it on over my dress and the four buttons up. There was faint purple patterning on the blazer. I loved what I was wearing.

"Well don't you look dark. You really do take after your father. But it suits you. You look very pretty," Tonks said, popping up behind me.

"Not too dark, is it?" I asked.

"Of course not. You're very clean and well presented. And the purple detailing makes you look very feminine."

"Thanks Tonks."

"Don't mention it," she said as I put my wand in the tight pocket of my dress.

"Can we go now?" Tonks asked, bursting with anticipation. I laughed and nodded. I had never seen her more excited for anything in her life before.

"How are we getting there?" I asked.

"Apparating of course!" Tonks laughed. We said goodbye to Andromeda and Ted before leaving her house. We looked around us to see if anyone was around.

"Coast clear" she whispered. I took her hand and seconds later, we standing in a field with a house in the distance.

* * *

"Know where we are?" Tonks asked. We began walking towards the house. It was a beautiful little house.

"Um, no. I don't." We continued walking through the field, getting closer and closer to the house. I presumed this house was where we were going.

"Tonks, can't you tell me?"

"Afraid not, Isabel. It's a surprise." We reached the front door of the house to see a red haired woman standing there with a big smile on her face. I had a sneaking suspicion...

"Tonks! How lovely to see you dear girl!" She exclaimed, hugging Tonks.

"Wotcher, Molly," Tonks replied, letting go of the woman named Molly.

"Molly, this is - "

"Dark hair, dark eyes. The pale face like porcelain. The mysterious look...you are the daughter of Severus Snape I've been hearing so much about." How did she figure that one out?

"Well done, Molly. Molly, this is Isabel Snape. Isabel, this is Molly Weasley."

"Pleased to meet you," I said, smiling. Molly smiled and gave me a big hug. My friend's mothers all seemed very warm. Molly finished her warm hug and gave me a smile.

"Bill, Charlie and Percy have all told me so much about you! Its excellent to finally meet you! Now both of you come in," Molly said, brining Tonks and I into the house with her. We walked into the dining area. Sitting around a big table was Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, Percy, Charlie and Bill.

"You're lucky you came when you did. We're all leaving for Egypt tomorrow," Molly said. Bill and Charlie stood up at the same time and walked over to us. Percy did the same shortly afterwards.

"Isabel!" Bill cried, picking me up in a hug and spinning me around "I've missed you heaps. You've grown up so much since I saw you last. You look brilliant." He let go of me and grinned. I was then given another hug. This time, from Charlie.

"Hey Charlie," I laughed.

"I've missed you so much! You have to start writing to me," he said. "I need to keep in contact with my sister." That was how close Charlie and I really were. During his last year at Hogwarts, he told me he considered me his sister. It was a beautiful moment. He let go of me and I turned to Percy.

"Hey Perce," I said, smiling.

"Hi" he replied, giving me a small hug. Percy and I were best friends after Bill, Charlie and Tonks had all left Hogwarts, but we weren't as close as I was with the other 3. I turned to the table and waved at Ron, Fred and George.

"Hey Ron."

"Hey Isabel. How are you?"

"Good thanks, Ronald. How are you?"

"Fantastic" he replied, grinning.

"How about us? Are we just going to sit here and be ignored?" The two twins chimed in. I grinned at the both of them. I had instantly liked them the first time I met them.

"Hello, Fred. Hello, George."

"That's better!" Fred said.

"This is so lovely" Molly said, "really lovely. How long will you two stay?"

"Only a couple of hours, if that's alright, Molly," Tonks replied.

"It's fine, of course! Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, come with me. Lets let them catch up," Molly said, leaving with her youngest four children.

* * *

"So, what will you do? Are you still going to become an Auror?" Bill asked.

"Apparently the Auror office isn't taking in new Aurors at the moment, so I'm a little stuck."

"You're kidding!" Charlie exclaimed.

"But Dumbledore told me he'll be in touch. I don't quite know what its about though," I told them. They all looked pretty shocked. I didn't blame them. When do you get a wizard like Dumbledore telling someone like me he'd be in touch?

"I'm sure everything will work out." Percy said, trying to reassure me. I smiled at him. Although Percy could seem strict at times, he was also extremely kind.

"So, lets lighten this up a bit. Who was your favourite teacher and your scariest teacher at Hogwarts?" Charlie asked.

"Do we have to reminisce, Charlie?" Bill groaned.

"Yes, we do. If you haven't noticed, we are in the presence of our two best friends that we don't get to see that often, so excuse me if I wasn't to reminisce!"

"Fine then. Favourite was, hmm, I liked McGonagall. She was alright. She actually liked me which was a plus.. Scariest was Isabel's dad," Bill said.

"Father isn't that scary. He's just strict."

"You sound so formal when you call him Father. I'm guessing he doesn't like dad." Charlie laughed.

"I don't know. Never asked him."

"Do you wish he was like a dad?" Percy questioned.

"Every day."

"It must be hard sometimes, not having him there as support," Tonks said.

"Trust me, there's support there. He just doesn't like showing his feelings."

* * *

The time passed very quickly. We talked about Egypt, Tonks' Auror training, Dumbledore, Dragons, Gringotts and owls. I missed my best friends. It took me this visit to realise that, and even though Father might not like it, I'd be visiting them a lot more often.


	9. Andromeda Black

**A/N: I don't really have much to say today, to be honest. Anyways, enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I reckon you all get the point.**

**

* * *

**

"Do you have to go?" Charlie asked Tonks and I. I didn't want to leave, I was having a great time.

"Yes, we must. Mum will be worrying her hair off" Tonks replied.

"Alright then" Bill said, disappointed. I hugged Bill tightly, then Charlie, then Percy, and finally, Molly. Tonks and I walked back out to the field and held hands. As soon as we knew it, we stood outside the Tonks household.

* * *

We walked inside to see Ted and Andromeda pacing around their living room. They looked up and let out a sigh of relief when they saw us.

"You two scared us to death!" Andromeda exclaimed, putting her arms around Tonks, then me.

"Mum, I told you where I was going" Tonks said, looking very embarrassed.

"But not how long you'd be there! It's dark outside, Nymphadora! You know I hate you being outside after dark!"

"I'm a big girl mum."

"I know, I'm just being cautious.:"

"Of course. Or over protective" Tonks muttered.

"I'm sorry Andromeda, won't happen again" I said. Andromeda smiled warmly and took my hand.

"Thank you for understanding, dear. Time for dinner, yes?"

"Yes! I'm starving!" Ted cried out. Tonks, Andromeda and I all laughed as we made our way to the dining room, closely followed by an eager Ted. We all sat down and began to eat.

"This is delicious, Andromeda" I said.

"Thank you" she replied with a smile.

"So, what do you plan to do, seeing as you've left Hogwarts. What are your options?" Ted asked.

"Um, I was going to become an Auror, but they said they weren't accepting new Aurors at the moment, so I'm not entirely sure."

"Thats a shame, I'm sure you'll be very good at whatever you choose to do" Ted said. Andromeda smiled, took a sip of wine and looked at me.

"How was your visit to the Weasley's?"

"Good. I missed Charlie, Bill and Percy very much."

"Percy?" Andromeda asked.

"Oh yes, I was very good friends with Percy too. Third oldest."

"Hey Mum, you know Isabel tutored your nephew for 2 years?" Tonks said.

"Nephew? What nephew?" Andromeda enquired. What? Draco was Andromeda's nephew. And Tonks' cousin? I didn't know!

"Draco, Mum. Draco Malfoy."

"Oh...him" Andromeda muttered and turned to me, "I do not speak to my sisters. Well, I don't specifically speak to one of them. The other just doesn't speak to me. Narcissa and Bellatrix disowned me after I became involved with Ted, who's muggle born."

"Why would they disown you?" I asked.

"Do you know my maiden name? Narcissa's maiden name? Bellatrix's maiden name?"

"No..."

"My name was Andromeda Black." My mouth dropped open momentarily while I took this in. She was a daughter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. Pureblood.

"You were in Slytherin, weren't you?"

"Yes. I was. Just like you, Isabel."

"What made you change your views from the rest of your family?" I asked.

"Because I didn't want to be that. My sisters lives aren't good like mine. Bellatrix is in prison and Narcissa is married to an absolute wanker. I think I have it better than they do."

"Are your sisters...death eaters?" I asked. If Narcissa and Lucius were, what about Draco?"

"Bellatrix is, of course." I think I knew that. Just checking.

"And Narcissa...she isn't, but we all know Lucius is loyal to You-Know-Who, and they both believe in blood purity." Draco. He was living in this world. It was unfair.

"What about Draco? What will happen to Draco?"

"Draco is in a difficult position. That's all I can say."

We continued eating dinner while I thought about all that had been said. Was it possible to save Draco from becoming like his father. God, I hope so. We sat in the living room for a while and talked about Tonks' Auror training. It sounded so, so, so hard.

"Isabel and Nymphadora, it's late. You both should be getting to bed." I stood up, as did Tonks.

"Thank you Andromeda" I said before leaving the room. I trodded off to my bedroom, followed by Tonks.

"Goodnight Tonks" I said.

"Goodnight, Snape" she replied, grinning. I closed my door, changed into my pajamas and went to bed.

* * *

I could see the sun peeking in between the curtains as I woke.

"Wotcher, Snape" Tonks said, entering my room.

"Wotcher" I replied with a croaky voice. I coughed to clear my throat.

"I have to go to Auror training. See ya later?"

"Yeah, course."

That meant I had all day to talk to Andromeda about her family. I was intrigued. How was Andromeda different to Bellatrix? How was she different to Narcissa? I changed into my normal black robes, took out my wand and flicked it to make my bed.

"Hello, darling" Andromeda said, appearing at the door.

"Oh, hi Andromeda" I replied "I'll be down with you in a minute." Andromeda smiled and walked to the dining room. For no particular reason, I brushed my long, straight black hair. Sometimes I wished I was blonde and bright like my sister. However, I have very dark brown eyes, sometimes people mistaking them for black eyes. And I have black hair, like Father. That, on top of the pale skin, sometimes makes me look a little scary. I walked to the dining room and sat opposite Andromeda.

"You look very nice. Black suits you."

"Thank you."

Andromeda smiled, "you take after your father."

"Apparently so..."

"I know you'll want to talk about my family, but you must know that it is a very touchy subject for me."

"I know, but I feel as if I need to know this."

"Alright then. My mother - she was all about blood purity. She felt as if it were the most important thing in the world. Social status was a lot to her. She would tell me 'Andromeda, you must keep the pureblood line going.' Its all she cared about. She had pureblooded boys in her sights for me from the age of 5. Father - we used to be very close. He would sit me on his lap every night and tell me stories. Magical stories. He would tell me ' you're my little princess, Andie. You're special.' After he found out about Ted, he hit me and told me I had half an hour to pack. Bellatrix - she's a crazy psychopath. She, at a young age, was fanatical about blood purity. She thought it was her duty to rid the world of muggle borns. She loved the dark arts. She thought they were brilliant. She openly told me her favourite spell was the Cruciatus curse. She's fanatically loyal to You-Know-Who. It's quite scary, actually. Narcissa, however, was different. Special, I used to think. Cissy was a beautiful young girl, but Mother made her into a lady before she could be a child. Cissy was a top student at school. She always had the best marks. She was engaged to Malfoy before she could blink an eye, but unlike Bellatrix and her husband, she cares for Lucius. It's quite astonishing. When she found out about Ted, she was shocked and disappointed, but she didn't disown me. She wrote me letters for a while, begging me to come home because she needed me. It hurt me, a lot. However, when she was married to Lucius, the letters stopped. I miss Narcissa, but that was the life I chose."

"Are there any family members you to like?"

"My cousin, Sirius. He was sorted into Gryffindor at Hogwarts, unlike the traditional Slytherin. His mother and my mother went crazy when they found out. He wasn't pureblood crazy like the rest of my family. Well, up until the Wizarding War. He betrayed Lily and James Potter, his best friends...and they were killed. He joined them. And now he's locked up in Azkaban."

"So you used to like him?"

"Yes. Past tense. Now, off me. Tell me about you and your father."

"There's not much to tell. He had an affair with my mother in 1974, I came along in 1975, I met him in 1986 for the first time and I've been living with him ever since. He's just my father by blood, he doesn't act like a father."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's alright, it isn't that bad. A few times he's looked proud of me. Like when I was sorted into Slytherin."

"That house can be a curse sometimes. Listen to me, Isabel. Promise me you won't let past Slytherins get to you and change your view on the world."

"Past Slytherins! I'm a past Slytherin now!"

"I was thinking of Bellatrix, Lucius Malfoy, the Lestrange brothers and...well...You-Know-Who."

"I won't. I'll be like you and Father. Good Slytherins."

"Good."

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang at the door. Andromeda took out her wand, walked to the door and opened it.

"Oh, Severus, it's you."

"Where is Isabel?"

"The dining room." Father practically ran into the room. I stood up from the chair and he hugged me tightly.

"I was extremley worried" he muttered, still hugging me. I buried my face in his black robes and smiled. How I wanted to hug my Father for ages. I could see Andromeda smiling in the corner of my eye.

"How did you find me?" I asked, letting go of him.

"I went to the Weasley house. There was nobody there, so I went back home. I soon remembered you were friends with Miss. Tonks."

"Is...he gone?"

"You took care of him, Isabel. I only got rid of him" Father said, turning to Andromeda, "thank you. For - for keeping my daughter safe."

"She was a pleasure, Severus. She can stay whenever she wants."

"We must leave, Isabel."

"Hang on" I said, walking over to Andromeda and hugging her. "Thank you, for everything. Say goodbye to Ted and Nymphadora for me. I'll visit soon." I let go of Andromeda, ran to my room, now the guest room and took out my wand.

"Accio bag" I said. My bag came shooting towards me and I caught it. I walked back and joined my father. He took me outside with him and looked around. The coast was clear to apparate. I'd always been told to look out before you apparate, and it doesn't matter where you are. I held Fathers arm as we apparated home.  


* * *

I walked back inside my home at Spinners End and placed my bag in my room. I walked over to Marieke's cage and opened the door.

"Need you to do me a favour" I whispered, stroking her. I sat at my desk, took my quill, paper and ink out and began to write.

**Dear Fleur,**

**I am so very sorry.**

**I haven't written to you in ages...**

**Something very scary happened to me a few days ago.**

**A man tried to attack me.**

**Don't worry, I'm fine. **

**I managed to stun him. **

**Father told me to leave (not leave the house forever, just while he got rid of the scary man), so I went to Tonks' house.**

**She and her mother, Andromeda, were really good to me. **

**And her father.**

**I was safe. **

**I visited Bill, Charlie and Percy too. **

**I missed Bill and Charlie heaps.**

**Anyway, I was there for a few days, but then Father came for me.**

**He said he was really worried and he hugged me tightly.**

**It was like he was actually worried. **

**I'm also going to be unemployed for a while.**

**The Auror Office isn't taking in new Aurors, which is a bummer.**

**I miss you. So much.**

**Love,**

**Isabel**

**x**

**P.S. Andromeda told me about her family.**

**Narcissa Malfoy is her sister.**

**Which means Draco is her nephew.**

**Freaky, huh?**

I put the letter in a special envelope and wrote 'Fleur Delacour' on the front. I gave the envelope to Marieke, opened the window, and off she flew.

"Isabel" Father said, walking into my room, "Dumbledore spoke to me about your current situation. I am...sorry."

"It's not your fault, Father. I'll just have to find another job."

"Another job?" he said slowly, raising his eyebrows.

"Father, I'm out of school, I don't have any back up plan and we could use the extra money."

"And where exactly are you going to find extra income?"

"I...I don't know yet."

"Well then, good luck. I sincerely hope you find your job."

"Thank you, Father." He looked down at me for a few seconds before turning away swiftly and leaving my room.


	10. Offer

**A/N: Hello!**

**I just felt like greeting you all very cheerfully!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It isn't like mind blowing but it's pretty funny. Tonks is in this chapter and she annoys Isabel. And you know how Isabel and and Severus were very alike...well, lets say that Isabel doesn't enjoy it.**

**So, without further adue, here is Chapter 10 of Disturbing Truths!**

**Disclaimer: Whatever. **

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I woke up the next morning feeling incredibly negative. This isn't going to work. I'm going to be a poor nobody forever. I wanted to be an Auror. I never had any back up plans. I didn't want to work at Diagon Alley. That wasn't for me. Hogwarts? No, I just left. I don't want to go back there right away.

"Dieu, Isabel! Que faites-vous?" I whispered to myself, banging my forehead on the wall.

"WOTCHER ISABEL!" someone called from behind me, scaring the life out of me. I turned around to see a pink haired Tonks.

"Tonks!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry" she said, "I like surprising people. You left yesterday."

"Yeah, Father came to get me. He was so worried."

"Yeah, Mum told me. She also told me that your father gave you a hug. Like, a big hug." I smiled as Tonks smiled back.

"He did, It was the first time I felt like I actually was his daughter. It didn't feel like Mother was my only parent."

"Speaking of mothers, Mum told me that you and her spoke of Narcissa and Bellatrix."

"I didn't know Draco was your cousin."

"I don't particularly like speaking about Mum's side of the family. Who wants to shout to the world that their mum is a Black and their aunties are Narcissa Malfoy and the psycho Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Right. Sorry."

"No, no, no. Thats my fault. It's only natural that you want to know about my family. Actually, I wouldn't say my family..."

"So, why are you here?" I asked Tonks. She jusmped onto my bed, took out her wand and began to play around with my things.

"Well, seeing as I have Auror training tonight, and you are out of a job, I thought we'd go find you one."

"No. I'm fine thanks."

"You're unemployed."

"I just left Hogwarts!" I cried. Tonks smirked and kept playing around with my things.

"You still need to bring in an income." Tonks replied calmly, still playing around with my things. I rolled my eyes and took out my wand.

"Expelliarmus" I said quietly, and shortly afterward Tonks' wand flew out of her hand.

"HEY!" she exclaimed.

"You we're getting annoying" I replied, shrugging my shoulders. My bedroom door flew open and Father stood there. Tonks swallowed what seemed like a massive lump in her throat.

"What is that - oh, Miss. Tonks - it's you."

"Professor Snape. How are you?" Father looked at Tonks for a few seconds and then turned to me.

"I am taking a trip to Diagon Alley to pick up some supplies. After what happened a few days ago I think it would be appropriate if you accompanied me."

"I'll be fine here, Father. I have Ton- Nymphadora."

"Well, if you get any unexpected visitors, try to do the same thing you did last time."

"Of course, Father."

"I'll be home soon" he told me before walking away.

"Goodbye Professor!" Tonks called, making me giggle.

"You two sound so formal when you talk to each other. Especially when you call him Father."

"He doesn't call me daughter, he calls me Isabel."

"Does he have a nickname for you?"

"No. It's just Isabel." Tonks and I sat in silence for a while, just taking things in, especially the things Tonks said about Father. The one thing that was different between Father and I was that he was private when he came to expressing feelings. I was not.

* * *

"Do you ever think about love?" Tonks asked, breaking the silence.

"Love? No, not really."

"You had plenty of guys after you at Hogwarts, yet you never dated" Tonks told me.

"Plenty of guys?" I laughed, "what planet are you on?"

"You're quarter veela" Tonks replied.

"Yet I'm not blonde. My hair is black and my eyes are dark."

"Well you're stunning and heaps of guys were after you."

"Such as?"

"Oliver Wood. Marcus Flint" I shivered when she said Marcus Flint. Oliver Wood was a very good friend to me, though. I never knew that he thought of me in that way.

"A lot of Slytherin boys, and Bill told me he used to have a crush on you, too. When we made that visit to you when you were in your sixth year."

"Bill?"

"The crush is over now, but it was quite cute." Tonks laughed. Out of all the guys she listed, I couldn't care for any of them. Well, I cared for Oliver and Bill, but they were just friends.

"I've never really felt anything for anyone" I said.

"Right, well neither have I. But boys don't like me, they think I'm weird.:

"You are weird, Tonks" I laughed.

"It seems purple and bubble gum pink hair doesn't help" she giggled.

"Why are we talking about this?" I asked.

"Because I am extremely bored" Tonks replied, grinning.

"Well, what do toy want to do?"

"What?"

"You said you were bored..."

"Oh, right. Lets go dark wizard catching!" she exclaimed, getting all excited.

"You're kidding, right?" I scoffed.

"Come on, Snape!"

"No, no, no! We are so not."

"You're so much like your father. It's so annoying sometimes."

"I am not just like my Father!"

Tonks laughed sarcastically "yeah, you are." I didn't reply to Tonks. Instead, I just stared at her.

"Aha! Yeah, you are!" she yelled.

"Keep it down! Fine, maybe I am, so what?"

"It's just funny, thats all."

"Mhm, hilarious." I said, rolling my eyes. Tonks stood up from my bed and walked to my desk. She shoved all of my things that were on my desk to the side. She then hopped up onto the desk and crossed her legs. She grinned and turned her hair yellow.

"You know, my mother loves you. She thinks your awesome..." Tonks said, still grinning.

"Andromeda?"

"Yeah. She thinks your some kind of new age witch. It's quite scary actually."

"Right. Just a little creepy." Tonks looked at me, shocked. I laughed at her reaction, "just joking. Your mother is pretty cool."

"She'll be glad you think so, Snapie."

"Snapie?" I scoffed. She's got to be joking on this one. Tonks laughed and applauded herself for coming up with the most stupid nickname of all time.

"I think the nickname is wonderful" she said.

"Yeah, right." I replied. I looked out the window, which was covered in rain, in thought. Very deep thought.

"You alright, Isabel?"

"Yeah, just thinking."

"About?" I wanted to tell Tonks about what I was thinking, but she would freak out. She would think I was a freak. I couldn't possibly tell her that I was thinking of Draco. I cared for Draco. Most people wouldn't get it, but Draco and I are close. I can't help but think about how his parents treat him, especially his father. He's an only child, and according to Andromeda, his father is a follower of You-Know-Who. He has no one to support him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Tonks asked, breaking me out of my trance.

"Yeah. Fine."

"Do you want me to go?" she asked, getting up to leave. I touched her arm and slightly pushed her back.

"No, stay. I need company. I'm always alone here and it's driving me insane." A call of an owl cried out from behind my window. I opened the window and in flew Marieke.

"Marieke!" I exclaimed. I took the letters and stroked Marieke on the head.

"Who's it from?" Tonks asked.

"There's two letters, one from Fleur and one from -" I stopped mid sentence and practically choked, "Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore?"

"I'll read it after Fleur's" I said. I opened Fleur's letter and began reading.

**Dear, Isabel,**

**I cannot believe you were attacked! **

**It's good to know that you're okay.**

**Is your father alright?**

**How was your stay at your friends house?**

**I bet it was less stressful.**

**That would be nice, seeing Charlie and Bill again.**

**You're father hugged you?**

**That's nice. **

**You probably have been waiting for that for so long.**

**I can't believe the Auror Office did that to you!**

**You are so talented!**

**That is freaky, about Andromeda and Draco and Narcissa.**

**Very peculiar.**

**All my love,**

**Fleur x**

"Aww, that's nice" Tonks said, "now, let's read the letter from Dumbledore." I took the letter from Dumbledore and opened it very carefully.

"Read it out!" Tonks cried.

"**Dear Miss Snape,**

**I was thinking the other day. Thinking very deeply.**

**I heard you were still unemployed, so I would like to offer you a job. You see, I have offered the Defence Against the Dark Arts job to a friend of mine, Mr. Remus Lupin, and he has taken it. But then, I had a brilliant idea. I was looking through all of your Defence Against the Dark Arts results, and I would like to offer you a new position. I would like you to be Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. You would be able to teach some classes, and you would observe the teaching in the classes you aren't teaching. This would only be for a few years, lets say around 4 or 5, and then you can permanently take over the position, if you'd like.**

**I do hope you'll accept my offer.**

**Sincerely,**

**Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Grand Sorc., D. Wiz., X.J.(sorc.),****S. of Mag.Q., Order of Merlin - First Class."**

"Merlin's beard!" Tonks yelled, "this is amazing!"

"I don't know if I'll take it..."

"Why wouldn't you, Isabel? You just have to!"

"Because I promised myself that I wouldn't go back to Hogwarts after I left.

"You'd be teaching. I mean, that's pretty cool!"

"I don't know..." I muttered.

"Discuss it with your father" Tonks told me.

"Good idea."

"Now, what are we going to do?" Tonks asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Are we going out?" she enquired. I thought hard for a moment, but then decided against it.

"No. Don't feel like it."

"You're no fun!" Tonks cried, slamming her hand on my desk. She looked like she was about to have a tantrum, ones that I see 4 year old muggle children having.

"So I've been told..." I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, do you know something?" Tonks said, snapping out of her tantrum mode.

"What?" I sighed.

"If you take the job at Hogwarts, you and your father will both be Professor Snape" Tonks laughed. It seemed to her like it was the funniest thing ever.

"It really isn't that funny Tonks" I told her, my tone cold.

"Well I think it is, and so, if we're not going out, what are we going to do?"

"I want to spend some time with Father tonight. Like Father-Daughter bonding type stuff" I told Tonks, bluntly.

"Are you kidding?" she scoffed.

"No, I'm not kidding. Father and I aren't close, and it annoys me."

"Of course it does, Snapie."

"Tonks...Nymphadora, I'm serious. I want to have a dad. Not a stranger who's related to me by blood."

"Oh, alright, I get it" Tonks sighed.

"Thank you for finally understanding" I replied, calmly.

"So, what will you and Daddy Dearest do? Play with your chemistry set?" I rolled my eyes as Tonks laughed and applauded herself...again.

"Not funny" I muttered.

"Yes, funny" she giggled.

"Can we talk about something else?" I asked.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, Tonks, but we seem to be talking an awful lot about me and nothing else."

"You're more interesting to talk about, Snapie" she laughed.

"Trust me, Nymphadora Tonks, I will curse you."

"Sure, sure. You're no fun. I'm leaving."

"Bye" I said.

"See you later, Severus Junior."

"Don't ever call me that again" I spat.

"Fine. See ya Snapie" Tonks laughed as she left my room and walked down the hallway.

* * *

Father and I sat by the fire place, eating dinner. We both seemed to like sitting by the fire place. It was one of the things we seemed to share in common.

"What did you do?" I asked, "to the man, I mean..."

"That man is a werewolf, Isabel. Very dangerous."

"I know. Andromeda told me."

"Well, I used a very powerful sleeping potion. That put him into a deep sleep-"

"Just a simple sleeping draught?"

"Yes. And then I apparated to an unknown forest with him, and then apparated back without him."

"Were you truthfully worried about me?" I asked. He stared at me for a while, his dark eyes looking into mine. Father was private, but I could see right through him on occasions.

"Yes" he finally answered.

"Yes?"

"You are my daughter. My only child. You are of my blood. We are in this together, Isabel. And you cannot ask too much of me, because I am afraid that I might disappoint you" he said softly. His dark eyes showed emotion. Father looked back towards the fire place and looked down. For that moment, for the first time ever, I actually felt like Severus Snape's daughter, and for the first time, I knew that my father cared for me.

"Will you come with me to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" I asked him.

"Yes. I was planning to go too, and I would prefer to come with you after all that has happened."

"And I need to tell you something, Father. Dumbledore offered me a job."

* * *

**A/N: Yay, Dumbledore offered Isabel a job! But, will she take it? You'll have to read the next chapter to find out.**

**I beg, I beg, I beg of you all...**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**I love reviews like Cookie Monster loves cookies.**


	11. Diagon Alley

**A/N: Hello once again. I decided to do a quick update just because I feel like it, haha. This chapter is pretty cool. It took me ages to write because I was figuring out what I was going to do. Anyway, I won't ramble on. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by the magnificent J.K Rowling and I owe my life to her, haha.**

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Father looked up at me and pursed his lips, thinking of what to say. "Dumbledore offered you a job?" He asked.

"Yes."

"And what exactly does this job involve?"

"He's offered me a job as Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'd be helping to teach for about four years and then take over the job permanently." Father let out a faint sigh. I've always known that Father wanted the Defence Against the Dark Arts post. I couldn't help but think I was taking the opportunity away from him.

"I'm sorry Father" I said quietly. Father looked surprised by what I said. "I know that you want the Defence Against the Dark Arts job." Father leaned forward and looked me right in the eyes.

"No. The opportunity was given to you, and I think you should take it."

"You think I should take it?" Father gave one nod and I smiled.

"Then I'll do it" I said.

"Can I ask, though, who is taking the main teaching role of Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

"Oh, yeah. Some one named Remus Lupin." Father froze. He didn't even batter an eyelid.

"Father, are you alright?" I asked, concerned.

"Lupin?" he enquired, not moving. I nodded.

"I'm going to bed" Father said, standing up and leaving the room.

"How odd" I whispered to myself. Father never goes to bed early. He's always up until midnight. Sometimes later.

"I think I will too" I muttered. I stood up from my chair and walked to my room. I shut the door and set myself on the desk, pulling out my quill, paper and ink.

**Dear Professor Dumbledore,**

**I thought hard about your offer, very hard. After a talk with my Father, I have decided that I will accept it, as it is a very good opportunity, and I would regret it if I didn't take the offer. Thank you for your kindness towards me, it has been greatly appreciated.**

**Sincerely,**

**Miss. Isabel Snape**

I put the letter in an envelope and gave it to Marieke.

"See you soon, girl" I whispered, stroking her before letting her off into the night sky.

* * *

"Isabel, I am waiting" Father called from down the hall, sounding particularly annoyed with me.

"Hang on, Father. Just a few more moments." I called back, fixing my hair into a high bun, leaving my black fringe to fall onto my pale face. I fixed my black dress and my tight black and purple blazer and put my wand in the inside pocket of my blazer.

"All ready" I said to myself, leaving my room and joining Father.

"Well will apparate to Diagon Alley" Father said slowly. We walked outside, into the overcast weather, and looked around. Father extended his arm and I took it. We looked around once more and then left Spinners End.

* * *

Father and I arrived at Diagon Alley a few seconds later. It was always busy in Diagon Alley. Always. There were kids running around with all new Qudditch gear, and adults pushing through the crowd with piles of books and all sorts of animals, making noises from their cages.

"Now, I have to go collect a few supplies for my potions classes" Father said.

"We plan quite early, us teachers, don't we?" I replied. Father looked at me for a few seconds and then turned the other way, his black robes flowing behind him. I first made my way into a new clothing store that had opened and found exactly what I was looking for. The normal black dresses I wear were in there, as well as my purple and black blazers. I took out the money that was in my pocket and bought a heap of the dresses and blazers.

"You're buying a lot today" the witch who was obviously the shop keeper said to me.

"Yes, well, I was in need of them. And I thought I'd buy them in bulk."

"Very smart." She smiled, handing me the big bag full of the dresses and blazers.

"Thank you" I said, smiling and leaving the shop. I walked back out into Diagon Alley and it looked like it had just gotten a whole lot busier. I hated busy places. They gave me headaches. I didn't really like crowds, either.

"Flourish & Blotts" I muttered to myself. I looked around, trying to locate the book shop. After a few moments, I found it and made my way into it.

* * *

"So many books we could use" I whispered, talking to myself while looking through a stack of books. I turned around to look at the books behind me when I crashed into someone. I fell backwards and his books hit the floor.

"Shit" I mumbled, getting on my hands and knees to pick up the books that the man had dropped.

"I am so sorry. I'm very stupid like that. I never look where I am going" I said.

"No, the fault is mine. My apologies" he replied as we both stood up from picking up books. I gave him his books and he smiled warmly at me.

"Thank you" he said.

"No worries" I told him. He put his books on the ground next to him and held out his hand, still smiling.

"Remus Lupin" he told me. It soon clicked. Remus Lupin...the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher I'd be working with.

"Isabel Snape" I replied, shaking his hand. He, like most others I meet, looked shocked. He shook my hand slowly and then let go.

"You're Severus Snape's daughter, or very much younger sister that no one has ever heard of, obviously."

"Daughter. And actually, I'm your new colleague" I said.

"Is that so?"

"Didn't Dumbledore tell you who was going to be your assistant?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. He smirked, but then looked puzzled as he looked me over.

"You? You look like a student! You can't be older than 17!"

"I'm 18 in one week. And yes, I'm your assistant."

"Were you the only applicant for the job?" he laughed. I stood there, looking very offended. How dare he say that to me!

"I'm just joking. I'm sorry" he said.

"Apology accepted, and just so you know, I was hand picked by Dumbledore for the job."

"Were you now?"

"Yes, yes I was" I told him.

"Well, Miss. Snape, its been a pleasure to meet you, but -"

"You're taking off so soon? I thought it would be good to discuss some things with you about classes and such" I said, quite disappointed.

"And we will talk, in due time, but I am currently tending to other things. I shall be in touch. Pleased to meet you, Miss. Snape" Lupin said, giving me one more warm smile before walking away. He seemed very mysterious at first glance, but his warm smile reassured me that he would be great to work with.

* * *

I walked back into Diagon Alley, looking for Father. He should of told me what shop he was going to. I hate it when this happens! Now my entire afternoon will be spent trying to find Father. I looked around to see a familiar boy. His pale skin, his platinum blonde hair. And he was accompanied by a woman with platinum blonde hair with a streak of dark brown in her hair. I soon realised who the boy was. Draco Malfoy. And then I realised who the woman was. Narcissa. I walked over to the mother and son, who both turned smiles on as soon as they saw me.

"Belle!" Draco exclaimed, his eyes lighting up at the sight of me.

"Hey Malfoy" I replied.

"Mother, this is Isabel Snape" Draco said to his mother. She raised her head high, as if to say that she was high in society, and that I should know it.

"Narcissa Malfoy" she said, smiling and giving me a small nod. Narcissa was a beautiful looking woman. She didn't have any of the dark looks that apparently all the Black's had, but she looked so bright...she reminded me of my mother. Soon after, a tall man with long blonde hair walked up and stood by Narcissa.

"And who might you be?" The man asked in a dark, yet slightly seductive tone. It was a little sickening actually.

"Isabel Snape" I answered, slowly and calmly, much like Father would.

"Ah, Miss Snape. It is...excellent, to finally meet you" he said, "Lucius Malfoy."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Malfoy" I lied, forcing a smile. Narcissa also seemed to be forcing a smile. It seemed uneasy standing there. I knew Draco hated his Father. I could see it by the way he was looking at him.

"Thank you so very much for tutoring Draco. He's been singing your praises" Narcissa said, smiling.

"Yes, I must repay you in some sort of way for your services, Miss Snape" Lucius told me in a tone that was quite intimidating. What sort of game was he playing? I kept smiling, showing that I was strong and that he couldn't push me around.

"Well you'll be pleased to know that I have been offered a job at Hogwarts" I said. Draco's eyes lit up once more and Narcissa gave me a genuine smile.

"Really?" Draco said, his eyes lighting up.

"Yes. Dumbledore assigned me as Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher" I replied. Narcissa clapped her hands together, smiled and laughed warmly.

"That's wonderful! You can continue to teach our Draco" she said.

"Yes, that is truly wonderful news" Lucius muttered, seemingly not interested in anyone but me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and Lucius' eyes shot up. Draco and Narcissa also looked up at the person behind me.

"Severus" Narcissa said softly.

"Narcissa. Draco" Father said, "Lucius."

"Severus, how are you?" Lucius asked.

"Content" Father replied. I looked up at Father and he looked down at me, sending a worrying look. What had happened to him? Lucius looked around, also seeming quite worried.

"We have just heard about your daughters new job, Severus, isn't it wonderful!" Narcissa practically sang. Father nodded at Narcissa and looked down at me.

"Have you got what you needed, Isabel?" Father enquired. I nodded showing him the bag full of long sleeved black dresses and the tight black blazers, like the ones I normally wear. Father nodded once while Lucius watched Father and I carefully.

"Would you like to be going Father?" I asked.

"Yes," he nodded "Narcissa. Draco. Lucius."

"Nice meeting you" I said, smiling at Narcissa. She smiled back and I looked over to Lucius. He was smirking at me, his eyes looking into mine. I turned away from him and smiled at Draco, "i'll be seeing you at school." Draco nodded and I joined Father. We walked away from the Malfoy family, his black robes flowing behind him, as my black dress flowed behind me.

* * *

"Did you see the way that idiot was looking at you? I should of cursed him that vile moron" Father snapped.

"Lucius?" I asked. Father didn't reply, but I knew it was who he meant.

"I did. I don't think it's much to worry about, Father."

"Listen to me. Lucius Malfoy is not someone I want you to associate with. Draco and Narcissa are fine. But please, Isabel, not Lucius Malfoy."

"Wasn't planning on it" I mumbled. Father stopped and turned to me, looking very serious.

"This is not a joke!" he spat.

"Alright, alright. I bet he's like that with everyone!"

"He isn't, Isabel."

"I'm sorry, Father" I said quietly. I had never seen Father this aggressive about something. Ever.

"Oh, I did meet someone else today" I told Father.

"Who?"

"Remus Lupin" I said. Father rolled his eyes and held his arm out. I took it and seconds later, we were out of Diagon Alley and outside our house at Spinners End.

* * *

We walked inside and I put my dresses and blazers on my bed. I made my way back out of my room and into the kitchen. Father stood there, looking down at the water basin. He didn't move. He just stood there.

"Father?" He still didn't move. It was like he was in a trance.

"Father? Dad?" Still no movement.

"Daddy?" He looked up and turned to me. He sighed and tried to leave the room, but I blocked him.

"Father, what is it?" He tried to leave again, but I took out my wand and put it by my side, pointing it at him, hoping he wouldn't see it.

"Tell me, Father" I said quietly. He took out his wand and pointed it at mine.

"Expelliarmus" he said calmly. My wand shot out of my hand and he caught it. He stepped around me and walked away.

"Dad is better" he called. I smiled and put my wand away.

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**A/N: Yay, Lupin! I've always loved Lupin. And yay, Narcissa! I really like Narcissa too. Pity she wasn't used a lot in Harry Potter. She could of added a heap of depth. And yay, Draco! I've been in love since Draco since the first time I picked up the first book. And yay, Lucius! I love Lucius. He's just so bad that he's so good.**

**Anyways, reviews are greatly appreciated! **


	12. Malfoy Manor

**A/N: Hey guys. I wanted to tell you something that dawned on me while I was writing a few days ago. I was sitting here, on my laptop, listening to the playlist on my iPod that I created to give me inspiration while writing this story. Anyway, as I was writing, it hit me like a train. Harry Potter finished this year. I knew it, but it didn't fully hit me until a few days ago. And guess what happened? I cried. I just cried. I can't wait for the Deathly Hallows Part 2 to come out, but it's going to make me so, so, so sad! And while I was crying, the sad songs in my playlist were playing and it just made me more sad then I already was.**

**Anyways, thank you so much to SweetCherrie for reviewing my story. You made my day, and if you have any more ideas for me, feel free to tell them to me!**

**And thank you to Her Awesomeness and ThoughtVortex for your constant reviewing, haha. **

**Anyways, after this very long Author's Note I expect you'd be wanting to read this chapter...I'll leave you to it!**

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot! And Isabel Snape! There are many things I wish I could own in Harry Potter, such as Draco Malfoy, Bellatrix's wand, Narcissa's wand, Hermione's wand, Hedwig, Tonks' broomstick...and this list would go on for way too long if I kept going, but I don't own those things. Dammit. Anyway, I own nothing but the plot and Isabel Snape!**

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The weeks had past by quickly. Nothing exciting has been happening exactly. I had my 18th birthday, but I don't make big deals of birthdays really. I've been spending time with Tonks (what a surprise). Tonks' Auror training had been going well, but she thinks that she's failing. Probably because she's so clumsy. I had also been spending time with Lupin. He's been quite helpful to me.

_Flashback_

"_Do you even know what you're doing" I laughed as Remus tried to draw a picture. _

"_This is more difficult than I first thought" he said, laughing. _

"_Do you know any students?" I asked Remus. He nodded._

"_Five" he replied. I tried not to giggle._

"_How many do you know?" he asked._

"_I was at school when they were, Remus. I think I know most of them. Who are the three you know?" _

"_Ronald Weasley, Percy Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter. Well, I don't know who they are, but I knew their parents" he said._

"_You knew James and Lily Potter?" I asked._

"_They were two of my best friends. How do you know about James and Lily?"_

"_I know Harry. We're friends. I crashed into him on the way to the library once, and we've been friends ever since."_

"_Right" Remus said to himself._

"_Anyway, we had better get back on task, or Dumbledore is going to be wondering whats going on with his students marks in Defence Against the Dark Arts" I told him. Remus smiles warmly and nodded. I snatched the drawing he made off him and tore it up._

"_It was just really bad" I laughed._

"_By the way, Happy Birthday" Remus said, handing me a black and silver box._

_End of Flashback_

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I sat at my desk, planning for the few lessons Remus would let me teach. My door swung open and there was Father.

"Hi, Dad" I said. He handed me a letter with my name on it.

"Marieke arrived a few moments ago with it. I assume it's from your sister" he told me. I shook my head as I looked at the handwriting.

"It's not Fleur's writing" I said. Father looked alarmed as I turned the envelope over. I gasped as I read the back of the envelope.

"Who's it from?" Father asked. I cleared my throat and looked at him, also alarmed.

"Lucius Malfoy" I whispered. I opened the letter and cleared my throat once more. Father walked to my bed and sat down.

"**Miss Snape,**

**I would like to invite you to my house tonight for dinner, so we can talk about Draco's academic progress. I would also like to talk to you about your own studies at Hogwarts as well. **

**I hope you will accept my invitation. Please be here at the Malfoy Manor at 7pm. No later.**

**Sincerely,**

**Lucius Malfoy" **

I looked at Father and started to breathe rapidly.

"I will accompany you tonight" Father said, trying to calm me down.

"No. It says me, just me."

"I do not feel comfortable with this" Father told me.

"Look at me, Dad! Do you think I am comfortable with this? But if I don't go he might think something of us. I am strong enough and I am smart enough. I can do this."

"If you insist -"

"I'll be fine, Dad" I said. Father looked down, his dark eyes worried, but then nodded.

"I trust you" he whispered. I looked at my watch and was startled.

"Merlins Beard! It's five o'clock! I have to get ready" I cried. Father stood up and left my room, muttering something to himself while walking out.

* * *

It was 6:55pm and I was all ready. I was wearing the usual black dress and black blazer. My makeup was dark, yet sophisticated. My eyes were dark and my lips were as red as a rose. My black, straight hair was out, and I actually thought I looked quite nice. I was going to show Lucius Malfoy that I was not to be pushed around.

"I'll be fine" I told Dad, patting his hand. He nodded as he looked me up and down.

"You look very...nice" he said.

"Thanks for trying. I should be going" I replied. I stepped into the giant fireplace and took my floo powder.

"Malfoy Manor" I said before leaving my home, and leaving my dad.

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I arrived at the Malfoy Manor in a dark room. It was cold and eery.

"Lumos" I said as the tip of my wand turned into a light. My appearance had been very altered by the floo network, so I had to fix my hair and dust off my clothes. I walked to the door and opened it. I flicked my wand to put the light out. I was now in a long corridor, and it wasn't so dark, but still quite eery. I walked through the corridor, looking at all the paintings while doing so. I reached the end of the corridor and stood in the middle of a staircase. A very long staircase. I walked down the stairs, still trying to find at least one person to tell me where I was.

"Ah, Miss Snape. Welcome" A man's voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Lucius standing over me.

"Mr. Malfoy" I said, giving a slight nod.

"I see you lost your way. Come with me" he said, walking down the stairs. I followed him, feeling scared. We walked through the hall of the Malfoy Manor together and he was smirking.

"How do you like my house?"

"It's quite...large..." I said. He laughed and pointed to portrait's lining the halls.

"All apart of the Malfoy family" he said. I looked at the portrait's. They all had the blonde hair, the pale skin...the Malfoy gene's were quite strong.

"All in Slytherin" he added.

"Slytherin means an awful lot to you" I said, looking up at the face of the tall man. He nodded, stopped and turned towards me.

"Does Slytherin mean a lot to you?" He asked, "i'd hope so, seeing as your Father was in that house, and that you spent many years at Hogwarts in that house..."

"It does mean a lot to me, but - "

"I can see it, Miss Snape. You are a true Slytherin. You're clever, cunning and might I say, you are a beautiful woman." I raised my eyebrows and Lucius' smirk grew. He turned the other way and continued to walk down the long hall. We reached what was obviously the dining room. I sat down in the middle of the table on one side, and he sat opposite me. Dinner was already served, and it looked like quite an expensive meal of that.

"Where is your wife and son?" I asked.

"Visiting a family member" he replied.

"You're wife is a beautiful woman. I find it quite hard to believe she is of the House of Black" I told him. He took his wine glass, sipped slowly, put it down and looked me in the eye.

"You know of Narcissa?"

"I know of Narcissa, and Bellatrix...and Andromeda."

"Who is Andromeda?"

"Andromeda Tonks, formerly Andromeda Black, the sister of your wife" I said. His expression was one of shock. Obviously, he thought I was just another one of those dumb girls to come out of Slytherin that only cared about the last name of a person.

"I don't know who you're talking about" Lucius muttered. I leaned forward.

"I know about Narcissa, Bellatrix, Andromeda, Sirius and Regulus" I whispered. He seemed to be growing more angry by the minute.

"Andromeda is no Black. A blood traitor for all I care. And as for Sirius..." Lucius snapped. He sat back in his chair and took deep breaths. I sipped my wine and tried not to laugh at how pathetic Lucius seemed in situations like that.

"Well, what was it about your son that you wanted to talk to me about?" I enquired, changing the subject. Lucius looked as if he was going to explode a few seconds earlier. Changing the subject would be a wise thing to do if I was going to last in this frightening house.

"I wasn't so sure if he was getting treated well at school, by his Professors..."

"Draco is treated the same as any other student in the school, Mr. Malfoy. I was treated the same as any student by my Father while I was there. If he was punished, he was punished because he did something wrong. Just like someone in Gryffindor, such as Harry Potter would be punished if he did something wrong."

"How is his academic progress?"

"Draco is a very capable student, Mr. Malfoy. He is very bright and he knows what he's doing. I feel as though sometimes your son gets distracted, as if other things are crossing his mind. Such as when I was tutoring him, he'd zone out sometimes, as if he were in another world." I started to eat and Lucius did the same, but kept his eyes on me. I felt so uncomfortable. It was like I needed to have my hand touching my wand at all times.

"And how were your studies at Hogwarts?" Lucius asked. I felt nervous as the subject suddenly changed to me. Lucius Malfoy wanted to talk about me. This couldn't end up well.

"I did very well, Mr. Malfoy. I did what was expected of me. Father wanted excellent academic results and I achieved it."

"Draco tells me you were excellent at Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"It's in the genes, Mr. Malfoy. Father was great at both subjects, and I am too."

"Call me Lucius, please. I insist." I coughed and took a sip of water.

"Of course...Lucius." I looked down at my plate and took a bite out of a peculiar looking piece of meat.

"And what to you prefer out of the two?" he asked, going back to the Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts topic. I swallowed the food I was eating and looked up.

"I enjoy Defence Against the Dark Arts. I enjoy Potions, but that is more of a...creativity thing for me" I replied.

"I believe Draco enjoys that subject, too." Lucius shifted in his seat and took a sip of wine out of his very elegant wine glass. He put the glass down and I began to look very closely at it. The bottom of the glass was was detailed with a snake. Lucius caught me and cleared his throat.

"Do you like it? These glasses were passed down through my family" he said, picking it up and smirking that arrogant looking smirk of his.

"The snake...what does it represent?" I asked.

"My family has been in Slytherin for generations. Snakes have been, well, let's say a symbol for us. How did you find Slytherin? I know that us Slytherin's haven't had the greatest of reputations."

"Slytherin was good to me. It suited me well. I knew what I wanted and I did all in my power to achieve it. And obviously I took after Father. I believe that some Slytherins are just judged by the house we are put in." Lucius smirked and laughed under his breath.

"That is one of the most truthful things I have heard a Slytherin say about our house" he laughed. Lucius took out his wand and smiled.

"Let's change the subject of conversation shall we?" he said, passing me his wand.

"What is it?" I enquired.

"Elm, 16 Inches. Dragon Heartstring" he replied. I took my wand out and gave it to him. I usually wouldn't do that, but I had his wand so I wouldn't think he'd go shooting any curses at me.

"And what might yours be?"

"Hawthorn, 11 Inches. Dragon Heartstring." Lucius let out a small laugh. He looked up and passed my wand back over. I then passed his back..

"We both have Dragon Heartstring cores. How...interesting. And Draco's wand is Hawthorn" he whispered, seemingly to himself. I raised my eyebrows and put my wand away. Lucius and I finished our meals and he stood up.

"Come. I'd like to show you something. I think you will like it" he said calmly. I stood up slowly as he turned his back and began to walk to the door. I followed him, but with caution. We made our way down the stairs and he flicked his wand to open a door. Inside the door was a grand room with high shelves, full of books. There were a four seats and two tables.

"This is my library" he told me. He invited me in and I walked in.

"So many books" I whispered to myself. I swear I heard Lucius laugh under his breath. Lucius walked and sat down in one the chairs. I sat down in the chair opposite him.

"It's quite a collection" I said, looking around at the books.

"Reading is extraordinarily useful to me. It's quite calming, in that sense."

"Quite" I mumbled.

"There are a lot of books about history. It's my favourite thing to read about..."

"History? What sort of history?" I asked.

"Magical history, of course. All of these books," he said, pointing to a certain shelf, "were passed down through my family."

"How many generations have they been passed down through?"

"Many. I don't know the exact number" Lucius laughed, "and one day, they'll be passed down to Draco."

"I didn't think of Draco as the reading type" I mumbled. Lucius passed me a book off one of the shelves.

"It's a photo album" he said. I looked through the photo's, and one stood out. One of Lucius, Narcissa and Draco. Draco was a baby, and Narcissa and Lucius actually looked in love at that time. I kept looking through other photos of Lucius when he was younger, Draco as a boy and Narcissa and her sister Bellatrix.

"What is this?" I suddenly asked him. Lucius looked shocked that I even had a voice, let alone that I spoke to him like that.

"What is what?"

"Inviting me to dinner? Showing me your library? Not to mention letting me hold your wand and showing me your family album."

"I wanted to talk about things, seeing as you'd be teaching Draco and you had been teaching Draco..."

"You wanted to gain my trust?" I asked, standing up, prompting Lucius to stand up shortly after.

"Trust is a marvelous thing. It can also be underrated."

"Did you want to gain my trust?" I demanded.

"What is it to you?" he enquired, moving closer to me.

"I don't just give anyone trust. They have to earn it" I said. Lucius moved closer and closer, and soon enough, he was standing over me.

"And what have I done to show you that you cannot trust me?" he whispered, touching my cheek with his hand. His hand was cold on my pale face. I froze as he moved his other hand down the side of my body. I pulled out my wand and stepped back. I pointed it right at him, and he didn't move. He put his hands up, like he was surrendering.

"Now, now. Play nice."

"I may be only 18 years old and I may be a woman but I am not someone you can mess around with. I am not some sort of toy" I said, disgusted.

"I said, what did I do to show you that you cannot trust me?"

"You just tried to...this evening is over. Goodnight, Mr. Malfoy" I snapped, storming to the fireplace in the room, taking the floo powder next to it.

"Miss Snape...Isabel..." he called after me.

"Snape Residence" I said clearly and quickly, so he wouldn't catch me.

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I arrived back home to see Father frantically pacing around the room.

"Isabel! It's been hours!" He said, walking over to me. I dusted myself off and looked at the time.

"Sorry, Dad" I replied.

"Was everything alright?" he asked. I wanted to tell him what happened, but I couldn't. Not now.

"Everything was fine. Mr. Malfoy was a very welcoming host" I told him. _'More than welcoming, Isabel, that's for sure' _ I thought. Father pursed his lips and turned his back to me.

"I am glad that you are alright" Father said before walking off.

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**A/N: Lucius is so evil! Why do you think he wanted to know all of those things about Isabel? And do you think Severus will find out what Lucius attempted to do?**

**I love reviews, so feel free to leave one. I promise I'll update really quickly if I get heaps of reviews! If not, you'll have to wait a week or so!**


	13. Nightmares

**A/N: Hello once again for usual readers. And to new readers, thank you for choosing to read this story, and welcome to Disturbing Truths! You have chosen wisely. **

**Now, we all know what happened last chapter was a little, well, not extreme but maybe a step down from it. Darn Lucius Malfoy for being so evil. I love his evilness! And I love his voice. Him and Severus have the best voices. Would I call them sexy voices? Maybe. **

**Look what happens when I drivel on...I bet you've all completely lost interest. You know what? I want to get to know my readers! When you review (which I beg you to do!), leave 5 Harry Potter type facts about yourself.**

**Anyway, presenting chapter 13! And there is plenty of Severus & Isabel father/daughter relationship type stuff in this chapter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

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I couldn't stop having nightmares the whole night. They were all about Lucius and what would of happened if I didn't stop had told me about how horrible Lucius was, but I didn't realise how bad he was until that happened. I was disgusted with myself. How could I truly believe that Lucius only wanted to talk about Draco's marks with me. It wasn't academical talk at all. It was Lucius thinking he could take advantage of a girl because he's Lucius Malfoy. The way he called me a beautiful woman...the way he touched my cheek...it was all wrong. It was flawed. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. And being my father's daughter, I thought I could do it all on my own. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. I tossed and turned before waking up.

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"Isabel" Father said softly, walking into my room. I sat up, still sleepy and put my hand to my head.

"Good morning, Dad" I replied, half asleep.

"Isabel, we need to discuss something. Please get up, get changed and come for breakfast" he told me, leaving the room. I got up, put changed into my usual clothes, put my hair into a high bun and left my fringe out. I left my room and flicked my wand to shut the door. I walked into the small, dark, dining room and sat down.

"Yes?" I asked, sitting down at the table. I raised my eyebrows before putting my head to rest on the table. I was exhausted.

"This is serious, Isabel. Please" Father replied. I sighed, rolled my eyes and looked up. Father passed the the Daily Prophet. There was a man on the front cover. A very scary looking man. He was screaming. Full on screaming. And he looked like he was being restrained by someone.

"Do you know who that is?" Father asked. I looked at him closer. He seemed familiar. He looked very dark. There was only one family he could belong to, apart from ours. I remember everything about the Black family. I knew Narcissa was the only Black without the dark looks. And I also knew that Father had no other family members except his parents and myself, so I came to a conclusion.

"Is he a Black?" I enquired. Father nodded once.

"Sirius Black..." Father replied.

"What did he do?"

"He's a murderer and nothing more than a waste of space. I want you to be careful, Isabel. If you go out by yourself, remember to take your wand. He's a criminal and a known killer. I will not have you go out on your own to be killed by some lunatic. We will be leaving for Hogwarts soon, anyway."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The year begins in two days, and we, the staff, always get there before the students. No exceptions." I nodded and began to eat my breakfast. Father was looking over the Daily Prophet, and occasionally rolling his eyes or shaking his head in disgust.

"How did he escape. Sirius Black, I mean?" I questioned. Father looked up and soon looked back down.

"No one knows. It seems that he was the first one to do it" he answered quietly, continuing to look through the newspaper. I finished my breakfast and stood up.

"I'm going out. To see Lupin. We need to discuss a few things" I said, plainly. Father thew the paper on the table and stood up.

"No. I forbid it" he snapped.

"What's the problem?"

"I don't want you seeing Lupin. Not now" Father spat.

"Fine, I won't go" I sighed, flopping back into my chair. Father slowly retreated and sat back in his chair.

"It's for your own good, Isabel" he said. I nodded and looked away. Something was going on here. I didn't know what, but whenever I mention Remus, Father gets all weird. Just like when he got all protective about Sirius Black. But Black's a murderer. So there's a difference.

"You should go and pack your things" Father told me, "and name your new trunk." I stood up and walked to my room. I took out my new trunk and took out my wand. I placed the wand on the front of the trunk and wrote my name.

"Professor Isabel Snape" I whispered to myself, looking at the trunk. I took out many of my other smaller bags and wooden boxes and began to pack my things. I packed practically everything in my room apart from the furniture, the blankets and the things that weren't necessary. I named all of my bags and wooden boxes with 'Professor Isabel Snape'. It felt weird, now knowing that I would be called Professor Snape by everyone. Including Percy. Including Ron. Including Harry. Including Draco. Marieke appeared at my window with an envelope. I turned around, but then another owl appeared. I took the letter from that owl and tossed it aside to read later, the one from Marieke was more important.

**Dear Isabel,**

**I've missed writing to you...**

**It has been so long!**

**I have heard you were offered a job at Hogwarts.**

**And that you took it!**

**Congratulations! **

**I am so proud!**

**How is your Father?**

**And how is everything else?**

**Have you spent anymore time with Bill, Tonks or Charlie?**

**Let me know.**

**Missing you.**

**Love, **

**Fleur**

**x**

I felt a little guilty. I hadn't written a letter to Fleur in ages! How absolutely stupid of me! I picked up the other letter and panicked as soon as I saw the handwriting. I didn't want to open the letter. I didn't want to touch it.

* * *

I sat there for the next half hour, arguing with myself about whether opening the letter would be a good idea. It wasn't a good idea, but I opened it anyway.

**Dear Miss. Snape,**

**Forgive me for last night. **

**My actions were inappropriate. I do hope that it doesn't spoil our friendship. I'd like you not to tell anyone about last night. I think that it'd be best if we kept it a secret. **

**I would much like to meet up with you again soon and discuss whether you could continue the lessons with Draco.**

**Sincerely,**

**Lucius Malfoy**

Reading that letter just sent the chills through my body. Not good chills. Bad chills. I couldn't think of anything but the way he touched me last night. I knew what his intentions were the whole time, but I thought I could handle it. What would I do now? He wanted to meet with me again. What if I said no? He'd think something up, being the absolute pig that he is.

"What actions were inappropriate?" Father asked, startling me.

"Dad, you scared me!"

"What happened between you and Lucius last night?" he questioned, snatching the letter from me, standing back so I couldn't snatch the letter off of him.

"It's nothing" I whispered. I didn't want him to know. Father shouldn't have to put up with this. Another stupid thing brought on by stupid me.

"Isabel, tell me" Father said. I sighed and looked down in disgust at myself.

"Lucius at one point last night got very...close to me. He tried to show me affection if you will, but he had intended to take it further."

"I see" Father mumbled.

"I'm sorry" I cried, "if I didn't pull my wand out who knows what would of happened." I walked over to Father and cried on his chest, dampening his black robes, "i'm sorry...i'm sorry...i'm so sorry."

"What did he do to you?" Father asked, sounding very aggressive. Father never got angry. It took him something big to set him off. But I could see him. The change in his face. My Dad was not happy.

"He stood over me, then touched my cheek...and then he slid his hands down my body, he was going to rape me. I just knew it" I cried. To my complete surprise, Father wrapped his arms around me and rocked me back and forth. He obviously knew how much I needed him right now. I felt so protected. I felt safe to have my Father comforting me.

"When I see that disgusting - " Father began to say.

"Dad, no," I said, pulling away from him, "you can't. He'll know that I told someone and then he'll come after me. We have to continue like this didn't happen..."

"Isabel, no, this man tried to - "

"I know. But we have to do this."

"It is quite obvious he wants to see you again. What if he tries it again?"

"I can handle myself, Dad. And besides, we'll be going back to Hogwarts soon..."

"We are going to leave in the next few hours. I don't want him coming here looking for you. The only way that will not happen is if we leave for Hogwarts." I nodded in relief. Hogwarts would be the safest option for me at the moment. Better than going back to the Malfoy Manor, that's for sure.

"What does he want with me?" I asked, suddenly panicking. I actually didn't know what Lucius wanted with me.

"It was once Lucius' pleasure to reel in young girls, around your age, and do that to them. Although, those girls weren't quite like you. They were muggle born. I assume you know where Lucius' loyalties lie?" I nodded.

"Yes, well, around the First Wizarding War, that's the way he tortured them. That along with the Cruciatus Curse. Then, he would kill them."

"Then why does he want me? I'm half-blood."

"He doesn't know that you are half blood. He doesn't know that I'm half blood. Lucius thinks you are pure blooded, and he has heard about your talent in Defence Against the Dark Arts. He doesn't care about the Defence, Isabel. He cares about the Dark Arts, and you are considerably talented in them too. He wants you to join them."

"I don't want to, Dad. I'm scared."

"There is no need to be scared. We will be at Hogwarts soon and he can not get you there." Father straightened up and left the room, "be ready in an hour" he called. I was ready to leave now, but I guess he had some packing to do too. I flicked my wand to shut my door. I can't believe I thought that I could handle everything by myself. _'My god, you're only eighteen! What am you doing, Isabel? You can't expect to keep winning...they will get you eventually, and you have to be ready' _I thought. I curled up in the corner of my room on my bed and started to cry. I was in way to deep. Lucius was going to get me somehow, I just knew it. And that fact scared me, because Lucius really was ruthless. He wouldn't care if he hurt me. He wouldn't give a damn. And if I did join them, which would never happen, he'd use me as his toy. He'd play with me for a while and then throw me aside and come back to me later. I took out my writing gear and sat at my desk, trying to stop my tears.

**Dear Fleur,**

**Everything has been fine.**

**I can't write much today, sorry.**

**I'll write again soon.**

**Isabel **

**x**

I gave the letter to Marieke and I watched her fly off. I went back to my little space in the corner, curled up and cried some more. All I could think of was the way he smirked...the way he enjoyed to see me intimidated. I didn't want to admit it, but I was intimidated. Lucius was tall, strong and he was powerful. I was a little girl compared to him. The way he tricked me...

And I almost trusted him! _'You really are an idiot, Isabel'_. I wanted to argue with my head, but what use would that do? Of course my head is right...

I put my head on my pillow, yet I was still curled up. I cried, and cried, and cried until I fell asleep.

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_**I was sitting in a room. A dark room. Much like the one at the Malfoy Manor. There were no lights, there were no sounds. The floor was just floorboards, and there was one small window that was covered with a piece of wood. The door to the room opened and two tall men walked in. One looked very scraggly and very scary. Greyback. The other had long blonde hair and pale skin. He was quite tall, but not as tall as Greyback. His appearance was immaculate, but the seductive smirk was so evil, it could only belong to Him. Lucius.**_

"_**My little miss Isabel" Lucius said. **_

"_**How are we today?" Greyback added, his tone dark. They both moved slowly toward me. Lucius took my hand and made me stand up. It was obvious what he wanted.**_

"_**We can do this the hard way or the easy way, darling. Now, come with me" he whispered into my ear.**_

"_**NO!" I screamed as I pushed Lucius out of the way and ran quickly past Greyback so he wouldn't catch me. Greyback and Lucius ran after me, both smirking. They were catching up. Run faster Isabel! Greyback held out his arm and grabbed me.**_

"_**She's mine!" Lucius yelled at him. Greyback stepped aside and Lucius took his wand out.**_

"_**Pity. I thought we could have a good time together. I guess not. I'll ask you one last time." I shook my head as tears fell down my pale, now ice cold cheeks. Lucius shook his head.**_

"_**Crucio!" Lucius bellowed, pointing his wand at me. I fell to the ground screaming. I was in agony.**_

"_**Stop! Stop! Please!" I begged as Lucius and Greyback enjoyed my pain.**_

"_**Please stop! I beg of you, please!" I cried. I screeched as the pain got worse. I felt like someone was stabbing me all over my body. "PLEASE" I screamed. Lucius and Greyback laughed at my pain and Lucius knelt down, stopping the Cruciatus Curse.**_

"_**Now that's a good girl" Lucius whispered, putting his hand under my chin. Tears ran down my cheek and he wiped them.**_

"_**I do hope I won't have to do that again" Lucius muttered into my ear.**_

"_**Dad..." I cried, hoping he'd come and save me.**_

"_**Father dearest won't be here to help you" Greyback laughed. **_

"_**Remus...Andromeda...Bill...Charlie...Percy...Tonks...Harry...Draco..." I whimpered under my breath, so they couldn't hear me.**_

"_**Get up" Greyback demanded. I didn't respond and Lucius shook his head, standing up and pointing his wand at me once again. This time, I knew what was coming.**_

"_**Crucio!"**_

"_**DADDY, HELP ME!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.**_

"Isabel! Isabel! Wake up!" A familiar voice pleaded.

"_**I wish I didn't have to do this to my pretty girl. I thought things could of gone so much better. We could of been happy together, you know. Avada..."**_

"_**DADDY...PLEASE..."**_

"ISABEL!" the familiar voice yelled. My eyes shot open and I sat up. I felt like I was in pain. A lot of pain. And I was all sweaty. I looked around for a moment, taking in my surroundings. It was just a nightmare. A very, very bad nightmare. I looked to my right to see my Father, Severus Snape, looking extremely rattled.

"What is going on?" he asked, looking as if he was about to burst into tears.

"I had a nightmare." Father's dark eyes looked at the crumpled up letter from Lucius Malfoy that was sitting next to my bed.

"About Lucius?" I nodded.

"And Greyback" I added.

"What...happened?" he asked. I wiped away the sweat off my head and the tears off my cheeks.

"He was using the Cruciatus curse on me. And then he was going to kill me. How did you know I was having a nightmare?"

"You were yelling out to me. You screamed 'Daddy, Help Me' and I came rushing into your room." I put my head in my hands and shook my head.

"I'm so scared of him."

"He cannot hurt you here."

"He just did" I said, tears starting to fall down my face once more. Father stood up and nodded.

"You're belongings have already been sent to Hogwarts. We should leave." I stood up and fixed my hair and my clothes. I nodded and put my wand in the pocket of my dress.

"Let's go" I said.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the Isabel and Severus father/daughter moments. The nightmare was a little scary, don't you think?**

**I beg of you to review!**


	14. Discussions

**A/N: Hello! Welcome to new readers, and welcome back to old readers. **

**Thank you to RainingTearsandPixieDust for reviewing last chapter! You must know how extremely grateful I am. **

**Now, seeing as I would like to get to know my readers, I am setting another small task for you to do in your review. **

**Number One: Tell me what character from Harry Potter you'd most like to meet in real life and why.**

**Number Two: Give me one couple that you wished would have been together in Harry Potter.**

**Also, if you have any ideas for me, any of you, please tell me and I'll be sure to discuss them with you. Anyway, this chapter has a lot of Snape and Isabel. Not necessarily. They're starting to get the whole father/daughter thing, like what happens when they get upset with each other. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Although, everyday, I wish that I owned Draco Malfoy.**

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We arrived back at Hogwarts for another year. It wasn't my greatest desire to be there, but a job is a job. And in a few years time I'd be the head of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. In some ways, I think teaching was better for me than being an Auror. For one, there would be much less of a chance of me being killed. And two, I'd be a lot more stable. Stability was something that was much needed in my life. Father and I first went to see Professor Dumbledore in his office. Father said that I needed to find out where my office is, since I'd be living there and all. We made out way from the front entrance of the school to the Dumbledore's office. Father and I entered and waited in front of the Headmaster's desk.

"Severus. How nice to see you" said Dumbledore, making his way down the stairs to us, a big smile on his face.

"And Miss Snape! How lovely that you are here too! I am so glad that you took my offer. There was no one I would of liked more than you to take this new post."

"Professor Dumbledore, if you are calling my Father by his first name, I would much like you to do the same thing for me" I said plainly. Fathers lips curled up into a small smile.

"Of course, Isabel." Dumbledore smiled and sat on the big chair behind his desk. I'd always found the headmaster to be quite...eccentric.

"Now, Isabel, on to the matters of where you'll be staying. It just so happens that your Father has a spare room beside him in the dungeons. It's not a large room. It'll be enough for your things, a place for you to mark things and write letters, and a bed. Is that quite alright?"

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore."

"You're things have already been taken to your room. Now, I see we have all that sorted so you are free to go. You too, Severus."

"Thank you, Headmaster" Father and I said at the same time. We left the Professor Dumbledore's office and walked towards the dungeons.

"Are you angry?" I asked. Father looked at me as we were walking and shook his head.

"No. Is there such reason for me to be?"

"Well, I took the spare room next to you. I would of thought you'd prefer to keep that area to yourself."

"I would prefer you to be closer than further away. I can keep an eye on you and your situation with Lucius." Father flicked his wand so the door in front of us would open. We walked through the door and down a spiral stair case.

"I would prefer no one to know about what happened at the Malfoy Manor. Just you and I. Please don't tell Dumbledore" I pleaded. Father stopped on a stair as we were nearing the dungeons.

"I had no intention to tell the Headmaster. However, if I felt you were truly at risk, I would need to share it with him."

"I see" I muttered, looking down, "it's just...I don't want to seem like that. I don't want to seem as one of those people..."

"One of what, exactly?" Father asked.

"Remember when people were calling me skanky, slutty Snape?"

"You should not be ashamed. It was not your fault. And Dumbledore would not think of you like that" Father said. He turned and continued down the stairs. I s and followed Father's black flowing robes. We reached the end of the stairs and there were three doors. The middle one was Father's office. The door on the right, led to my office. I walked to the door and attempted to open it. The door, inconveniently, was locked. Father made his way to my door and pointed his wand at it. I shook my head and lowered his wand with my hand.

"You think after spending all those years here that I'd be able to unlock a door" I said, raising my wand to the lock on the door, "Alohomora." There was an unlocking sound on the door and it opened. Father nodded and made his way inside my office. I looked around and soon found myself in my office too.

"It seems as if your belongings have been brought here already" Father said, indicating my trunks, bags and wooden boxes full of my things. I opened one wooden box to see three photo frames. One had a picture of Fleur and I, smiling. It was taken when I was only eleven years old. A few weeks before leaving to live over here with Father. The second had a photo with Mother and I. How I missed my mother. Her golden, long hair. Her bright eyes. Her brilliant smile. Her warmth. Mother was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I missed her. Lastly, was a photo of Father and I. It was taken just after my 7th year N.E.W.T pass. Father and I were both standing. He looked different in this photo. His expression was one of pride. He wasn't smiling, like I was. He just looked very proud. I put the three photo frames on the mantlepiece above the fireplace.

"Would you also like this one?" Father said, handing me a photo frame I'd obviously missed. The photo inside was a beautiful one. It had Tonks, Charlie, Bill and myself. This photo hadn't been taken long ago. We were all smiling and laughing. I placed this photo on the mantlepiece and sighed.

"Is there a problem?" asked Father, raising an eyebrow.

"Not at all" I answered.

"You cannot lie to me" he told me.

"I'm just stressed. I start classes with Lupin within a matter of days and all I can think about is when Lucius is going to come and find me or send me another letter. It's frightening."

"He will not get you here. Dumbledore will protect you. As will I." I pursed my lips and nodded. He was right.

"What about Draco?" I enquired suddenly, "what if he asks about what happened between Lucius and I the other night? He must know I was there." Father moved swiftly to the door and stood in the doorway.

"I cannot help you there. You must make that decision for yourself. Telling him would be a large risk to take, but maybe lying to him would be a bigger mistake. I have some things to attend to. I take it you'll be alright unpacking on your own?" I nodded. Father stared at me for a few moments before leaving the room. I flicked my wand numerous times to open my two trunks, some wooden boxes and a few bags. _'Time to get to work' _I told myself in my head.

* * *

My office was set up. Everything from the photos on the mantlepiece, my working desk, my bed and my books were in order. I was quite satisfied with myself. There was a small knock at the door and I jumped a little.

"Sorry, Miss Snape. I did not meant to startle you" a familiar woman's voice said. I turned to see Professor McGonagall. I held my hand to my chest and let out a big breath.

"It's quite alright, Professor McGonagall. I am just a little jumpy today, that's all."

"I can see that. Is everything alright?" she asked, sitting down on the comfortable black and green chair next to my bookshelf and fireplace.

"Yes, Professor. Everything is okay." The professor nodded and looked at the books on my shelves.

"Seeing as we are now colleague's, I think we should stop the formalities. I don't call your father Professor Snape, nor do I call the Headmaster Professor Dumbledore. I call your father Severus, and I call Professor Dumbledore Albus."

"Of course, you may call me Isabel if that is what you wish."

"Then you may call me Minerva." She smiled warmly before looking back at the books covering my walls.

"You obviously like to read" she said. I nodded slowly.

"You're very much like your Father, your attitudes are quite the same. Although you are more tolerant of some things." We both laughed. How true that was. Father couldn't put up with half the things that I do.

"I trust that you won't be biased to the Slytherin students like your Father too?"

"Of course not. I have many friends that have been in Gryffindor, and are in Gryffindor at the moment. And I've had friends from other houses too." Minerva smiled and I smiled back.

"You will make a fine teacher in the years to come. Albus was lucky to get you when he did."

"Thank you, Minerva. And if you need any help in any of your classes, I can help you" I said. Minerva took my hand and pat it softly. I didn't spend a great deal of time with her in my Hogwarts years. She was my transfiguration teacher. It never went further than that.

"Thank you for that offer, dear. I will take it into consideration. Why, it's a little chilly in here." The Transfiguration Professor pointed her wand at my fireplace and a big fire lit up in that instant.

"Thank you" I told her. Minerva stood up and gathered her green cloak.

"And might I say, black suits you. Another similarity to your father. Do you have any similarities between you and your mother?"

"We both have pale skin" I laughed. Minerva laughed quietly and put her wand away.

"I must be going. I will talk with you soon, Isabel" she said, turning away and leaving my office. I sighed. I was alone again. I took the photo of Father and I off the mantlepiece and looked at it carefully. We were similar. Very similar. If I wasn't quarter veela, and inherited incredibly beautiful looks from my mother, who knows how I might of turned out. I felt happy to see the pride on Father's face. I thought we were fighting then, but in that instant, I knew it was a one sided fight, and I was the one fighting. Father was proud of me, but he didn't know how to express it. Can't blame him.

* * *

The night soon fell and I found myself eating dinner with Father, Minerva, Filius Flitwick, Madame Hooch, Pormona Sprout, Poppy Pomfrey, Rubeus Hagrid and the Headmaster himself.

"I'd like to welcome Miss Snape to the staff of Hogwarts. A toast. Miss Snape" Dumbledore said, raising his glass.

"Miss Snape" everyone except myself raised their glasses in toast to me. It felt a little weird. I hadn't done anything yet. They were all smiling at me, except Father of course, he was just looking at me in that expression he always has on his face when he's content with everything at that moment.

"Thank you." I smiled, nodding to all the people looking at me around the table. Flitwick sat back in his seat and sighed.

"The last night of freedom before the students come rushing in" he said. Everyone laughed, except Father and I. Father never laughed. I didn't mind that. I guess he just didn't want to.

"How will you find teaching your friends, Miss Snape?" Dumbledore asked me. I looked around for a little bit before focusing on the Headmaster.

"It will be a little strange."

"Which of your friends will you be teaching?" Madame Hooch enquired. I laughed a little bit under my breath and turned to flying teacher.

"Percy Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter, Oliver Wood and Draco Malfoy." I swear Father flinched at the names Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.

"How did you find the Malfoy child?" Minerva asked softly. All the teachers attention was now fixed on me. I guess Draco was sort of difficult for some of them. I had heard that he called Hermione Granger a mudblood last year. Sometimes, I felt as if I must question my friendship with Draco.

"He was an excellent student for me while I was tutoring him. He's a good friend, also. I guess I was his only real friend. He acted different towards me then he did to everyone else." All the teachers nodded simultaneously.

"And Harry Potter?" asked Flitwick. I smiled when the words 'Harry Potter' left his tongue. Harry was a good friend, ever since the first time we bumped into each other.

"He's very talented. Extremely talented. And he has a heart of gold. A lovely boy. It's so unfair what has happened to him in the past." Minerva and Dumbledore both smiled, while Father had an emotionless face. I didn't know why he hated Harry Potter so much. I didn't think Harry would have given him a reason to hate him.

"Where's Remus?" I asked, suddenly noticing his absence. I would of thought he'd be here by now.

"He will be arriving by train tomorrow" Dumbledore told me. I wished that he'd been here tonight, giving me someone else to talk to. Father sighed and looked down.

"You very well know that I do not agree with this" Father muttered. I looked at him inquisitively. I didn't think he was talking to me. Dumbledore looked at Father and shook his head.

"Remus Lupin will be a fine addition to our teaching staff, Severus. No matter what the circumstances are at the moment" the Headmaster said.

"Excuse me, but I don't understand. What circumstance?" All the teachers sighed and sat back in their seats. I leaned forward, hoping someone would tell me soon. Minerva finally looked at me.

"You have heard to Sirius Black's escape, I hope?" she asked. I nodded.

"Well, years ago, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were best friends. Along with James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. They were all the best of friends. That was until the Wizarding War when Black betrayed the Potter's and went to You-Know-Who and told them their hiding place. The Potter's were then killed, leaving Harry on his own, as you know. Black also went and killed Peter Pettigrew. Remus and Black's friendship finished at the time Black betrayed James and Lily Potter" Minerva said.

"And you" I said, turning to Father, "think that Remus will let Sirius Black into the school?" Father didn't look at me, but I knew what I had said was right. To the surprise of all the other teachers, I laughed. Father looked up at me and raised his eyebrows. He too, had no idea what I was on about.

"That's completely absurd. Absolutely absurd" I laughed. Minerva, Poppy, Pormona and Madame Hooch's lips crept up into smiles.

"Isabel, stop laughing. It's rude" Father snapped.

"Now, now, Severus..." the Headmaster said. Father stood up from the table and left the room swiftly. Dumbledore went to stand up but I stopped him.

"I'll get him" I told them softly. I stood up from the table and left the room, my black dress trailing behind me.

* * *

I stood outside the door of Father's office. I couldn't hear any noise coming out of the room, but I knew he was in there. I knocked on the door. No reply. I knocked again. No reply. I knocked once more...

"Go away" Father called out, his tone cold and vicious. I attempted to open the door, but it was locked. I took out my wand and pointed it towards the door.

"Alohomora." The door unlocked and I walked into the dark room. No lights were lit. Not even the usual

"Lumos" I whispered. I made my way around the room, sometimes stumbling over the odd object that was sitting in the middle of the floor.

"I told you not to come in" I heard Father's voice say. I couldn't work out where it was coming from. I pointed my wand to various places in the room. The light then fell on a pair of dark eyes in the corner of the room. I walked over to that corner, and there was Father, sitting on a chair with his arms crossed. I lit a candle sitting on the table next to Father and sat down on the chair next to him.

"You made a fool of me in there" he spat.

"I'm sorry" I said. I saw my Father's eyes as the candle light hit his face. He looked hurt.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Why would I tell you?"

"I'm your daughter. It's my job to make you feel better." Father stayed silent and still for a few moments, before he lowered his eyes to the floor.

"People would make fun of me all the time when I was here at Hogwarts as a student. They would make fun of my appearance, of me in general. I was some sort of game to them. And you laughing at me in there...it brought back some horrible memories."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise" I said, noticing that I had made fun of him in the dining room earlier. I sighed and looked down. I always had to go stuff everything up. Especially with my father. Just when I thought things were going well, it was me who had to make the stupid mistakes.

"Leave. Please. I would like to get some rest" Father whispered. I stood up and turned to Father.

"Goodnight, Dad" I said, leaving his cold, dark office. I walked to my office and opened the door to see a house elf standing next to my fireplace.

* * *

"Hello, Miss!" The house elf said cheerfully.

"Ah - Hello. Who are you?" I replied, not sure of what to say.

"Dobby, Miss. Dobby wonders who you are, too."

"Isabel Snape."

"May Dobby call you Miss Isabel?" I nodded. Dobby smiled and handed me an envelope.

"Dobby wonders if you are related to Professor Snape...the Potions master."

"Yes, Dobby, I am. He is my father."

"This arrived for Miss Isabel not long ago. Dobby thought he should bring it to Miss Isabel and introduce himself." I recognised the handwriting straight away and fell backwards onto a chair.

"Is Miss alright?" Dobby asked. I shook my head. I opened the letter slowly and read it.

**Miss Snape,**

**I understand why you did not reply to my last letter. I realise my actions were very inappropriate last time we met. I do not know what came over me. I would blame it on you being quite an alluring young woman, but I believe it was just my rude behavior. **

**I very much feel we must meet again. Please, I need to see you again soon. We have much to discuss.**

**Lucius Malfoy**

I sighed and my head fell into my hands.

"Miss, are you alright?" Dobby asked me. I looked up at Dobby with a tear coming down my face.

"I'm scared, Dobby" I whispered.

"Dobby does not understand, Miss. Why are you scared?"

"For now, Dobby, you cannot know. Can you please leave?"

"Of course, Miss" Dobby said, looking towards the ground.

"You can come visit me any time, Dobby" I told the small creature. His eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Thank you, Miss! Dobby will definitely visit Miss Snape!" Dobby left the room and I fixed my attention back on the letter. I took out my writing paper, quill and ink. If I didn't reply, I'm afraid he'd come looking for me. And that was something I did not need. How would it look if Lucius Malfoy came to Hogwarts asking to see me? The trust I had gained from everyone at this school would disappear in a second. And I could not show that I was scared, either. I had to play his game.

**Dear Mr. Malfoy,**

**I am sorry I did not write to you earlier. I have been quite preoccupied, you see. I completely understand about what happened last time. It was not a graceful ending to our evening, but I believe our friendship can be mended in due time. I will visit you some time soon, but right now I am much to busy. **

**Sincerely,**

**Isabel Snape**

I tucked the letter into an envelope and chucked it in the top drawer of my black wooden desk.

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**A/N: Lucius is getting impatient. And an impatient Lucius means trouble! Remus Lupin will be in the next chapter so that is something for you to look forward to! Review please :)**


	15. Adjustments

**A/N: Wow. Just wow. When I posted my last chapter, I had over 700 hits. The day after, I had over 600. I have to say to those of you who have clicked on my story, I thank you so, so much.**

**I am so sorry about how long it took to update. I had that stupid Error Type 2.**

**To those of you who went that extra mile and clicked on favourite/story alert, thank you, and I appreciate it.**

**And to those who went that one step further and reviewed my last chapter Averymalfoy123, ThoughtVortex, LaFlorine, RainingTearsandPixieDust, lil'ninj & SweetCherrie. I thank you the most. You are why I continue to update my story, and you are the reason I set aside 1 and a half hours every night, just so I can write my story! I am enjoying the ride, and I hope you stick along the ride with me!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I woke up slowly. All I could see was darkness. I yawned as I reached for my wand.

"Lumos" I whispered. The tip of my wand shone as I stood up. I checked the time on my clock and almost fell backwards. I was late. Very, very late. I had promised the other teachers earlier I would help them prepare the Great Hall. I put out the light in my wand and then flicked my wand across the room so the few lights I had in there and the candles would light up. I was highly skilled in non-verbal magic, something I was very proud of. It wasn't an easy thing to do. Father, of course, was the one that helped me with my non-verbal magic. I quickly changed into my black dress and blazer, put on my black heels and ran out of my office. I practically flew up the stairs and reached the corridor.

I reached the Great Hall. As I advanced closer to the doors, I swished my wand so the giant doors would open, and there stood all the teachers of Hogwarts (except Remus), watching me walk into the Hall.

"Nice that you could join us, Miss Snape" Dumbledore said, seemingly mocking me. Father looked at me sternly, as if to say he was quite disappointed.

"I am so sorry, Headmaster. Will not happen again" I replied. I could feel my cheeks turning red. This was certainly embarrassing. All of the senior teachers, except Lupin, were in the room, and this was extremely embarrassing for someone like me, who was going to overtake a senior role in a few years. _'Not the way to start off, Isabel' _my head said to me.

"You can help your Father and Minerva raise the candles into the air" Flitwick said, holding a clipboard. He looked so very professional. Even while I was a student here, I always thought of Professor Flitwick as a control freak. He loved to be in command of things.

"Actually, Filius, we're all finished" Minerva told him. Flitwick sighed and searched his clipboard again for a job I could do.

"Well then, Miss Snape. It seems you have no jobs to do. Congratulations" Flitwick groaned, walking away. Minerva smiled at me, as I smiled back. Father walked up to me, his dark eyes scrutinizing me. I tried not to stare back into them. It would only stir him up more.

"I am quite disappointed that for your first official duty here, you were extremely late" he said.

"I am sorry, Dad, but I have a good reason."

"Really, what excuse have you got for me? I have heard them all before, Isabel. Weasley uses them on me all the time. All of them, actually, except the eldest one who actually cares about his work. So I dare you to try me." I didn't know what to say, but then I remembered the letter.

"IgotaletterfromMalfoy" I mumbled, quickly, hoping no one would hear. If someone knew here that I was in touch with Lucius Malfoy, they'd think the absolute worst of me.

"I have no idea what you just said to me" Father said. I moved closer to Father so that no one else would hear.

"I got a letter from Lucius" I whispered into his ear. I saw his face expression go from nothing, to pure anger and disgust.

"Dad, not here. Please" I pleaded with him. One of his hands clenched into a fist and his knuckles turned white. He marched out of the Great Hall and stood in a small alcove around the corner. I followed him and stopped him.

* * *

"What did he say?" Father muttered. I sat down on the seat and asked Father to sit next to me. He did, and I put a hand on his arm.

"You must understand that he's not asking for you to come into this, and if you do I'm afraid he'll hurt us both. He asked me to see him again. And he once again apologised for his actions. I have to see him again or he'll practically hunt me down - "

"No! I will not - " Father shouted, standing up.

"Dad, please!" I snapped softly, pulling him back down to his seat, my face stern. Father and I were the same when it came to getting angry. It wasn't that often, but when we were angry, we were vicious.

"I will not allow you to go back to the Malfoy Manor" he spat.

"It doesn't matter whether you allow me to or not, I have to go. For the sake of me and for the sake of you, too. I will be able to defend myself. I've done it before and I can do it again." _'You really can be naive, Isabel. As if you can defend yourself against Lucius Malfoy. If they took bets on who would defeat who, you'd be a million to one.'_

"You were lucky!" Father retorted, "that man will kill you if you play around with him. Two words while your not paying attention and you will be dead. Do you understand that, Isabel? Do you know how much I feared for you when you were there last? I was frightened that you weren't coming back to me, Isabel! I cannot stand that feeling!"

"I have to go anyway. I can handle it" I said softly, shrugging my shoulders. _'You know you can't Isabel. Stop being a complete and utter bitch and let your father assist you.'_

I fought off the voices in my head that were telling me the opposite of what I wanted.

"You cannot handle it! You're just a - "

"A small girl? A small girl who is the youngest Hogwarts teacher in history? A small girl who fought off a known werewolf? Lucius Malfoy will not hurt me fatally. I mean too much to..."

"To who?"

"Draco."

"You were just his tutor."

"I was his role model. Did you see the way Narcissa was singing my praises? I would think that a woman of that calibre would not sing praises to just any person. I was his only real friend. I helped him when no one else would." Father looked down and ran his fingers through his greasy black hair.

"Whenever you go, you have to promise me Isabel that you will keep yourself safe."

"I promise" I said. My lips curled up into a smile before standing up and walking away, my black dress flowing behind me.

* * *

It was nightfall, and I could hear the train in the distance. It had finally got into the station around five minutes ago. This was scary. Soon, I'd be introduced to the whole of the school. Most people knew me of course, but I'd be introduced as a Professor this time, not as the most terrifying teacher in the school's daughter. I fixed my hair, and it was straight and out, my fringe covering my pale forehead. I wanted to look presentable for one of the most important nights of the school year. I walked to the Great Hall and made my way to the front. Every teacher was already sitting down. I parked myself on the seat next to my Father. He looked at me once and nodded. I beamed at my Father. I thought he was proud of me, becoming a teacher and all. I glanced up to see another teacher making his way into the Great Hall. I recognised him at once.

"Remus, welcome!" Dumbledore greeted him kindly, pointing to the empty seat next to me. The Professor's greeted him generously as he sat next to me.

"Hello, Remus" I said, beaming at him.

"Isabel." He hugged me and smiled warmly at me. If looks could kill, Remus and I would both be dead right now. My father was not happy with the presence of Remus Lupin. And he was even more unimpressed with the friendship I had formed with him. He leaned forward and looked at me, to smile at my Father.

"Hello, Severus." Father didn't even glimpse at him. He just sat there. Didn't batter an eyelid. It was as if he thought Remus didn't exist.

"Excuse my Father's rudeness. He sometimes doesn't get that other people live on this planet. Although, he isn't usually this rude, something must have slipped into his morning pumpkin juice" I whispered to Remus.

"It's quite alright" he laughed quietly.

"How was your train ride?" I asked.

"Extremely terrifying. A Dementor decided to hop on the train and give the student's quite a scare. It even decided to take a little swipe at Harry Potter. The poor boy was completely rattled. As if he hasn't gone through enough in his life, he now has an immense fear of Dementors."

"That's dreadful. How did the conductor allow it?"

"I'm afraid he was just too scared, so he just let the dementor's pass right through." I took the glass of wine that was sitting in front of me and sipped it.

"Aren't you too young to be drinking that?"

"I'm eighteen, Remus. I am an adult, therefore, I am allowed to drink what I want." Remus rolled his eyes and then laughed.

"Well, yes, I see. I forget sometimes how old you are. Although, tonight, I must say you look a lot more like a woman. You look exquisite."

"Uh - thanks Remus, but I think you need to get your eyesight checked" I laughed.

"Are you doubting how attractive you are?"

"I don't think I look exquisite, no."

"Well then, Miss Snape, you are the one who needs her eyesight checked because you are stunning. I would believe it's because of your veela heritage." I smiled at Remus' compliment. I glanced at my Father, who's expression was one of stress. I fully turned my body to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Dad?" I asked softly. I looked over my shoulder to see Remus watching on. Father looked at me, his dark eyes full of displeasure.

"Father, please" I breathed, "I don't want to see you upset."

"I'm fine. Stay out of it" he managed to choke out. I sighed and turned away from him. I looked up to see Minerva's expression of sympathy. She obviously knew how hard it was to get my Father expressing himself. I had always given it my best shot. Yet, he never gave anything away. I turned to Remus, and he shrugged his shoulders. I turned my attention towards the big doors of the Great Hall, which were now opening, the first students making their way into the hall.

All students were now sitting at their house tables. I could see Draco at the Slytherin table, obviously eager to eat. I could see Hermione, Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Percy and Wood at the Gryffindor table, all paying attention to the front. All of the new students had made their way to their tables after being sorted, and Dumbledore stood up to make his speech.

"Hello, and welcome once again to another year at Hogwarts. There has been three changes of staff this year. First, Professor Grubbly-Plank has retired from the post of Magical Creatures, and that will be taken over by none other than our very own, Rubeus Hagrid. Secondly, the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts will be taken over by Professor R.J Lupin," I could see Harry, Ron and Hermione reacting to that announcement, "and thirdly, there has been a new post added this year. Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. This position will be filled by Professor Isabel Snape." I could see most of the students turn to each other and say something. I could hear a few whispers from the Slytherin and Gryffindor Table's.

'_Professor Snape's daughter, yeah? Wasn't she going here last year?'_

'_Isn't she a bit young to be a teacher?'_

'_Wasn't she friends with the oldest Weasley kid?'_

'_I believe she was friends with Malfoy from Slytherin, too.'_

'_She won't be as harsh as her dad.'_

'_Another Slytherin biased teacher...'_

'_Isn't that the skank from Slytherin? Always fooling around with the Weasley's and Wood?'_

'_Not to mention the time everyone thought she was sleeping with Terrence Higgs, the former Slytherin seeker'_

Remus nudged me with his elbow and I smiled. I turned to the Slytherin table to see Draco applauding energetically. I also saw Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Percy and Wood all applauding quite loudly too. Dumbledore started going on about Sirius Black, and how the school will play host to the Dementor's of Azkaban. I peered to me left to see Remus' knuckles go white. He caught me looking at him and quickly stopped tensing.

"Are you alright?" I whispered to him.

"Fine. Just a little tired" he whispered back, not even looking in my direction. I turned on a smile, just pretending that I thought what he was saying was the truth. I knew it wasn't. I knew it was far from the truth. The Headmaster had finished his speech and moved down from his pedestal. As the students began to eat the large feast set out for them, I began eating what was on the plate in front of me. I wasn't really in the mood for food. I was tired, I was scared about what was going to happen with Lucius and I was worried for Remus and my Father. I then remembered what Minerva had said last night.

'_Well, years ago, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were best friends...Black betrayed the Potter's...Remus and Black's friendship ended at the time Black betrayed James and Lily Potter.' _I scanned the face of Lupin. He looked somewhat scared and hurt. He gazed up at me and smiled warmly, attempting to tell me that nothing's wrong. He couldn't be more wrong at how smart I was at reading emotions.

* * *

The dinner had finished and I was patrolling the corridors. I decided to go and see Remus and tell him what I knew, so there wouldn't be any tension between us while we were teaching. I entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts room and walked up the stairs to Remus' office. I knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in" I heard Remus call out. I opened the door and made my way into the room.

"Aren't you supposed to be patrolling the corridors?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"I'm supposed to be, but I need to talk to you about something first." Remus indicated two chairs next to the fireplace. We both sat down and he leaned forward.

"What can I help you with?"

"Well, you know how I asked you if you were alright at the - "

"Isabel, I'm fine."

"I know about...you and Sirius Black. I just thought I ought to tell you, I don't want any tension between us as we're teaching...and I don't want any tension in our friendship either." Remus sat back into his chair and looked down at the floor.

"Who told you?" he asked quietly.

"Minerva. She told me about how you were best friends, and how Black betrayed Lily and James, and then killed Peter Pettigrew."

"I should of been upfront with you about it earlier" Remus said.

"It's alright. It isn't fair that you have to continuously answer all these questions about him, and James. Does Harry know?"

"Does Harry know what?"

"That you were best friends with his Father. I'm sure he'd appreciate you to at least tell him about them. No child should ever have to live without the love of their parents..."

"And you are loved by your parents?" Remus asked, "i'm sorry, Isabel, it's just curious to me how someone like your Father could have a child..."

"No, it's fine. I lived with my mother in France for the first eleven years of my life. My step-father thought that I truly was his daughter. He kicked me out the day he found out I wasn't. I moved in with my Father. We haven't been that close until recently."

"I see. It's just - interesting - to see someone like Severus show any sort of love or sense of family to anyone," Remus whispered, "and about Harry, I will tell him eventually. I think that he should just settle into school first." I stood up and gathered by dress behind me.

"I should go. We have a big first day tomorrow" I said.

"Yes, very well. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Remus" I said, turning around and leaving the room.

"Goodnight, Isabel" I heard him whisper as flicked my wand to shut the door behind me. I walked back to my office in the dungeons and instantly fell asleep.

* * *

**Disclaimer: REMUS LUPIN IS IN THE BUILDING! Weow! Is anyone else excited as I am that Remus has OFFICIALLY entered the story? You don't have any idea how excited I am to be writing Remus Lupin! Anyway, I am so sorry that chapter was short, but I promise next chapter will be long! And to make up for the short chapter, I will post next chapter EXTREMELY soon! **


	16. Gifts

**A/N: Hello all! How is everyone? Thank you to ThoughtVortex & Elfsquire90 for reviewing the last chapter!**

**A special thanks to RainingTearsandPixieDust for not only reviewing my story, but putting me on her favourite authors list. It just makes me so happy to know that someone is enjoying what I write!**

**As I write this author's note, I am watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Such a good movie. And such a good book. Just thought I'd randomly put that out there. Anyway, happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

My first day as a teacher had approached me quickly, and I didn't feel ready in the slightest. I changed into my normal black dress and blazer, I left my hair as it was when I woke up in the morning, out and straight. From my point, I didn't look professional in the slightest. I picked up my wand and left my office. I was greeted by my Father outside my door.

"Good morning. I see that you have awoken earlier than you did yesterday" he said.

"Morning, Dad" I replied.

"I want to wish you luck for your first day." Father passed me a black box, wrapped in a green ribbon. I opened it to see a necklace. The necklace was silver, and the pendant was a silver Thestral, with an emerald green line running through it. I smiled at Father as he watched my expression.

"It's beautiful" I said, putting the necklace on, "thank you." Father nodded and made his way upstairs. I soon followed, to see Students rushing around the corridors. I made my way down the huge corridor and into the Defence Against the Dark Arts room. At the front, was Remus, waiting for me.

* * *

"No students yet, I see" I said. I stood next to Remus and smiled.

"I guess I'll just observe today."

"Nonsense" he said, "you'll be getting to teach this class too."

"Thanks, Remus." I looked towards the door to see students entering the classroom. Remus and I glanced at each other nervously. I recongised most of the students. Ironically, the first class we'd be teaching contained Ron, Harry, Hermione and Draco. Draco sat with his so called friends, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson. I hated Pansy Parkinson. Dumb as they come. She gives the girls of Slytherin a bad name. The rest of the students came walking in, including Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom and Parvati and Padma Patil. As all the students were seated, Remus moved to the front and smiled.

"Hello. My name is Professor Lupin, and I will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for this year. I would like to introduce my assistant, and most of you would know her, Isabel Snape, who you will of course be calling Professor Snape." Pansy Parkinson raised her hand and Remus nodded at her.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Does that mean that there are two Professor Snape's?" I rolled my eyes, as did half of the class.

"Yes, that mean's there will be two Professor Snape's" Remus replied. Pansy smiled at herself, thinking that she'd just asked the most amazing question ever. Pansy was boasting to Goyle about the question she'd just asked when Remus nudged me, indicating that I should be the one to point them out.

"Miss Parkinson, is that conversation you're having with Gregory Goyle so urgent that you feel the need to have it right this minute?" I asked, my tone sounding incredibly like my Father when he would go off at children. Pansy and Goyle both slid down in their chairs, their cheeks turning red. Harry, Ron and Hermione were all smiling at me, but it seemed the rest of the class were just intimidated.

"Right, now, let's get to work" Remus said.

During the middle of the lesson, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle were all throwing paper balls at the back of Neville Longbottom's head. I was standing at the back of the room and could see everything that was going on. I flicked my wand and the three balls made of paper went up into flames.

"30 points from Slytherin" I said as all the Slytherin students groaned and shot looks at the three troublemakers, "and Professor Lupin and I will see you in Detention at 7pm tonight in here, is that clear?" The three students nodded slowly. Remus was trying to hide a smile, as he was in the middle of teaching a group of students.

* * *

The rest of the day's lessons went on quite smoothly. All of the students were well behaved, except Fred and George Weasley, but I just threatened to tell their mother that they were getting up to mischief, and they stopped completely. Remus and I sat down in his office at the end of the day.

"That was eventful" he laughed, "I think some students were frightened by the presence of you in the room."

"What can I say, my last name is Snape..."

"I'm quite looking forward to detention later with the three Slytherin students. I dare say that they think you've betrayed Slytherin."

"I never liked those three. I feel sorry for Draco, having to put up with it all."

"You and Draco are quite close, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't say close..."

"What would you say?"

"To be honest, Remus, I don't really feel like talking about Draco Malfoy at this point in time." Remus nodded and turned away.

"Or any Malfoy's to be honest" I muttered. Remus turned around and looked at me. I knew that he'd heard me.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"Nothing..."

"Isabel. I heard it. What's going on?" I stood up and attempted to leave the room, he pulled out his wand and flicked the door shut. I sighed and turned around, my dark eyes looking towards the ground. Remus pulled me back over to the middle of the room and sat me down"

"Are you having problems with anyone?" he asked. I kept my eyes on the floor. I didn't want to tell him.

"Are you having trouble with Lucius Malfoy?" he enquired, his tone firm. I felt like I was a student and a teacher was interrogating me. I turned my head up towards Remus and nodded slightly. I didn't want to tell him, but I had to. I had to let it out to someone other than my Father.

"What is he doing to you?" And then, I lost it. I couldn't handle it anymore. My head fell in my hands and I cried. Remus sat next to my and tried to get me to look at him. He grabbed my wrists and shook me.

"Isabel, tell me! What did he do to you?" I peered up at Remus, my dark eyes full of hurt and disgust at myself. I shook my head, still crying. If I told him exactly what might have happened, I'm afraid he'd chuck me out and never want to speak to me again.

"Isabel" he whispered, "please, I can help you."

"He tried to...touch me and t-t-h-en..." I choked out. Remus let go of my wrists and stood up, backing away from me. He knew what I was talking about. He knew what Lucius had done to me.

"He what?" Remus muttered. I stood up and dried my eyes.

"I knew I shouldn't of told you!" I yelled. The door then practically blasted open and in came Father. He rushed over to me and put his hand on my arm.

"How was your first day of teaching?" he asked. I looked up and saw his shocked expression at the sight of me. As soon as he saw my face, he ran to Lupin, grabbed Lupin's collar and pushed him up against the wall.

"What did you do to my daughter you filthy dog!" Father snarled, tightening his grip on Remus' collar. I walked over to them and pushed Father off of Remus.

"I told Remus about Lucius, Dad! That's why I'm crying!" Father backed away from Remus and dusted himself off, like he had gotten himself dirty.

"Apology accepted" I heard Remus mutter to himself.

"Isabel..." Father whispered. I put my hand up to silence him and Remus. I shook my head as tears fell down my cheeks. The two men stood there, not saying a word, not moving.

"If I don't do what he says..." I breathed, "he could kill me."

"He will not kill you. Weren't you saying not long ago that he won't hurt you?" Father said, trying to calm me down. I stood up and put a hand to my forehead.

"He will kill me, Dad. You told me yourself what he did to girls like me who didn't go along with his actions. He killed them, and in a terrible way I might add"! Why am I any different?"

"Because Lucius Malfoy doesn't want you to be his little rag doll. He wants you to join the Death Eaters!" Remus looked at Father, then looked at me. His eyes darted back between the two of us and he sighed.

"He wants you to join them?" Remus asked. I nodded slowly, "but why would Lucius Malfoy want you to join the Death Eaters?" Father rolled his eyes and muttered something I didn't catch. I felt like hitting both of the two men standing in front of me over the head. Remus for asking such obvious and stupid questions, and Father for just being plain rude.

"It seems Remus that Daddy has forced little Draco to tell him all about my...talents..." I said. Remus hit his desk with his fist hard and I jumped. Father touched my shoulder gently to calm me down, but I still felt a little anxious and jittery.

"Lucius Malfoy always gave me the shits" Remus said. I leaned against the wall and exhaled. How was I supposed to be reassured of anything when Remus talked about how much Lucius gave him the shits and how much Father hated Remus Lupin.

"Lupin, does your language have to be so foul?" Father asked. Remus waved his hand as if to just brush Father to the side.

"I was talking to you" Father stated, getting more aggressive in every syllable he spoke. I walked over to Father and put my hand on his arm and shook my head.

"Not here" I whispered, "there's no need to get angry." Father tightened his lips, as if to think about what I had said, and then nodded. I smiled slightly and backed away from him. Father never really got that cross. Only when people tried to divulge into his personal life.

"I'm leaving" I said. Remus turned and put his arm out to try and stop me. I pushed him away and shook my head.

"I need to go for a walk. I'll be back in time for detention with Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle." He nodded and opened the door for me. I practically stormed out of Remus' office and out of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. How was I ever going to find a way out of this if Father didn't want to be in the same room as Remus, let alone work with him to help me out. And on top of that, I had to go to the Malfoy Manor, and soon, whether I liked it or not.

* * *

"Hello Miss Isabel!" I heard a chirpy voice say from behind me. I turned around to see Dobby standing there, his big green eyes looking up at me.

"Did Dobby see Miss at a bad time? Dobby is sorry."

"No, no, Dobby. I am just a little bit...dazed."

"Dobby understands Miss."

"Can you do me a favour, Dobby?" I asked the small house elf, remembering the letter that I had wrote to Lucius was still in the top drawer of my desk.

"Of course. Anything Miss."

"I need you to send a letter for me. It's in the top drawer of the desk in my office."

"Of course, Miss" Dobby said, turning around to walk off. He nearly reached the end of the corridor before he came running back to me.

"Sorry, Miss. Dobby need's to know who Dobby is sending the letter to."

"Oh, of course Dobby, my apologies. I need you to send it to Lucius Malfoy...to the Malfoy Manor." Dobby gasped and then put his hands over his mouth.

"Is there something wrong, Dobby?" I asked, noticing Dobby's expression of happiness turn to one of fear.

"Dobby fears Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy was Dobby's old master! Mr. Malfoy did not treat Dobby very well. Dobby was treated like vermin!"

"I know how you feel Dobby. I am not treated well by him either, but I need you to send the letter for me. Can you do that?"

"Yes Miss, right away!" Dobby said, turning his back to me and running off down the corridor. I sighed and then turned the other way, to see a blonde haired boy at the other end of the corridor.

* * *

He stared at me, but I couldn't bare to look him in the eyes. I especially couldn't talk to him after all that went on in his own house. I sighed and tried to turn away, so all the young man would see of me was the back of my dress.

"Belle, wait!" he called. I sighed and turned around to see Draco Malfoy running towards me.

"Hi" he said softly.

"Malfoy, I believe you are required to call me Professor Snape" I said. He shook his head and looked down for a few moments.

"I'm not calling you Professor Snape anywhere apart from classes. We're friends, and friends don't call each other by those names." Draco's eyesight was still fixed on the floor.

"Well, am I allowed to call you Draco yet?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips. Draco thought about this for a while before nodding.

"Yes, I guess so." I smiled as Draco laughed to himself. Draco finally looked up at me and I jumped. **Those eyes.**_** His eyes...**_

Draco wasn't Draco to me anymore. He wasn't Malfoy. Not the boy I met the first day he came to Hogwarts. Not the boy I tutored for two years. Not the boy who I shared many things in common with. He was now the son of a monster. The son of the man who gave me nightmares. The man who scared me. The man who wanted me to lose. Draco was now Lucius Malfoy's son to me.

"Belle, are you alright?" I tried to look back at Draco, but it just put the image of him, and what he tried to do to me in my head. His seductive, yet disturbing smirk. His cold touch. It's not something you can just forget.

"Belle?" Draco tried to get my attention, as my eyes were fixed on the floor. I was pretty sure I wasn't blinking either. Draco grabbed hold of my shoulders and I shoved him back at once. The touch felt all too familiar. Could the touch of a person be passed down through generations?

"Please...stop" I virtually pleaded.

"Isabel Victorie Snape, tell me what is going on with you," Draco demanded, "You're acting completely mental!" I snapped out of my trance and looked at Draco, my eyes dull and dreary.

"I'm sorry" I said quietly.

"I'm very worried. Something isn't right with you. You're usually much more...joyful." _'Since when do the Malfoy's care about joy?' _My head was taunting me, telling me to get away from Draco. My head was right. Being around Draco wasn't going to do me any favours. But my heart said otherwise. I have no idea why, but it was saying to keep my friendship with Draco alive. I knew the consequences of my friendship with Draco. I, at some time, would have to meet with Lucius again. It was a given.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I can't tell you. It's too personal." Draco did have the right to know about what happened with Lucius, but then again, he didn't. No. I wouldn't tell him. Everything would be ruined. Everything.

"But-"

"Draco. No. I'm not telling you."

"Fine!" He snapped, turning on his heel and walking off.

"Draco!" I called. He turned back around and shook his head.

"Secret's aren't meant to be kept!" he told me from the other end of the corridor. _'Don't you dare tell him, Isabel! You're father will kill you, Remus will kill you and Lucius will literally kill you!' _

"Draco, I'm sorry, but this is personal. You can't be involved." Draco nodded and smiled sarcastically.

"I'll see you later...Professor." Draco stormed off and turned the corner, leaving my sight. I leaned back against the wall and sighed. I had the tendency to ruin things with Draco. He had the tendency to take things too far. That was our friendship, I guess. It was very turbulent.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair. I didn't talk to Father or Lupin very much. I caught Minerva staring at the three of us, and she was obviously concerned. Father told me that the Transfiguration teacher had a knack for sticking her nose into business that wasn't hers to get involved in. Remus and I left the Great Hall at the same time, as we both had to be there for detention with the three idiotic Slytherin students.

* * *

Remus and I stood at the front of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, not even glancing at one another. I was upset at myself for telling him about my dramas. He seemed to know that.

"Isabel - I'm sorry. About earlier. I have a problem with pushing people to tell me things that they do not desire to share." I gave Remus a curt nod and he turned to me.

"Remus, please don't tell anyone about it." I turned to him and looked at him. The scars on his face rattled me at first, but I've gotten used to them. He refused to tell me what they were from. That was a little annoying. But I accept that people don't want to tell you their life stories sometimes.

"I wasn't planning to" he said plainly.

"Remus, I'm serious. No one can know. Not even Dumbledore."

"What if Dumbledore asked me about you? If there were any problems? What if he were catching up. Lets say..."

"I don't like to play around with rhetorical questions, Remus." Remus chuckled softly and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you're so like your father in your attitude. It's scary, actually." I let out a small grunt and began to walk off. Remus grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Look, I'm sorry if I offended you in anyway."

"Do you understand anything that I'm going through? I have Lucius Malfoy, the father of one of my best friends, a proven follower of Voldemort, coming after me! You have no idea how that feels."

"Isabel, I have many problems of my own. Problems you couldn't dream about."

"Such as?"

"We aren't divulging into my life story. You can forget it." I sat at a desk and looked up at Remus.

"We have 5 minutes before the three morons come. Shoot away." Remus' expression was one of disbelief. I would think he wasn't used to his. Getting pushed around by his assistant. And friend.

"No" he laughed.

"Yes" I demanded.

"No. And I mean no" he snapped. I nodded and laughed under my breath.

"Now you know how it feels like to be me" I said softly.

The three Slytherin students walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts room a few minutes after the argument between myself and Remus cooled down. They walked to the front and sat at three different desks.

"Miss Parkinson" I said, acknowledging the pug faced girl. I can't believe Draco would let a girl like that into his 'friends' group.

"Mr Crabbe. Mr Goyle" I said, also acknowledging the two boys sitting at the two desks next to Pansy. If there were people used as the definition for words, these two would be the definition for idiot. They both were as stupid as each other. Last year, they passed out from a sleeping draught in a cupcake. A cupcake!

"Do you three know why you are here?" Remus asked. The three of them shook their heads simultaneously.

"You're here because you were disrupting the class, and Professor Snape has your punishment" he said. Pansy put up her hand and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Miss Parkinson?"

"Uh, Professor Lupin...which Professor Snape were you talking about?" I fought the urge to burst out laughing. Instead, I put my head into my hands and shook my head. That was one of the most stupid questions I've ever heard.

"The one in this room right now, Miss Parkinson" Remus replied. He turned to me and raised his eyebrows, his expression on of complete amazement. I stepped forward to stand over the three Slytherin students. I passed the three of them a scraping tool each.

"What's this for?" Goyle said in a sheepish tone.

"Those, Mr Goyle are for scraping gum off of the bottom of these desks. And if you ever speak to me like that, you'll get to spend a months detention with either my father or Professor McGonagall." Goyle swallowed the lump in his throat, Crabbe snorted and Pansy was looking at her scraping tool in disgust.

"Get to work" I said.

* * *

Two hours later, the three students were gone, and the gum from under the tables was gone. Pansy Parkinson attempted to get out of it many times by saying she had a bad back, and she could use her wand to do it. I replied that if she used her wand, she'd probably set the whole of Hogwarts on fire. To my astonishment, she laughed.

"You're punishments are ruthless" Remus joked, packing up the books he was reading while detention was happening. I smiled and nodded.

"I learn from the best," I said as Remus raised his eyebrows, "my father, I mean." Remus laughed and nodded. I attempted to pick up a desk with my arms to move it to the side for tomorrow's lesson, but I had no success. Remus rushed over and helped me to move it.

"Thanks" I breathed. Remus stood over me, smiling warmly.

"You're welcome" he whispered, putting the strand of hair that was over my face behind my ear. I knew what was coming. I wasn't ready for this. Remus leaned in and kissed me softly. _'Belle, get away from him' _my head screamed at me. _'You don't feel that way about him!' _I finally broke the kiss and looked him up and down. I touched my lips, turned away and ran out of the Defence Against the Dark Arts room, feeling incredibly confused.

* * *

**A/N: OMFG! Remus kissed Belle! I wrote that and I'm even going off about it! Can you believe it! What do you guys reckon will happen. Reviews, please!**


	17. Hurting

**A/N: Hello all. Welcome to my new readers. Welcome to my old ones. ****I still can't get over the ending to that last chapter!. I couldn't believe what I was typing when I wrote it! And yes, there will be a confrontation between Isabel & Remus in this chapter!**

**Thank you to WritersOfTheGods for reviewing last chapter! I appreciate it greatly!**

******Also, thank you to the always amazing RainingTearsandPixieDust - You make me want to keep positing my chapters, just to see what your review will be like!  
****I must give some credit to SweetCherrie, who helped me out heaps in this chapter, giving me many ideas. Thank you so much!**

**Just a warning, there's a little bit of swearing in this chapter (not a lot, just a little), so if you don't like it, don't read it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I got back to my office in quite a hurry. I was so confused. He couldn't like me that way. He shouldn't like me that way. I'm not that person. And to think that was my first kiss. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. I paced around my candle lit office, trying to tell myself that wasn't what just happened. _'At least it wasn't Lucius' _my head said, taunting me again. "Shut the hell up" I whispered back to my head, brushing it's teasing. I sat on my bed and leaned my head back. This was the worst possible freaking time for this to happen. Remus was a teacher. I was a teacher. I was his assistant. I needed to teach with him every day. And now, it will be complete awkwardness. _'Don't wish to alarm you, Isabel, but you do realise the guy has feelings for you, right? Like, he did the hair move!' _My head was right. Remus had feelings for me. That couldn't be good. Ah, crap. Someone has feelings for me. Why me? I'm the daughter of Severus Snape. No one should love me. I should be hated. I should be told that I make a crappy girlfriend, a terrible wife and I would never be a mother. After I saw the tragedy that was my family in France, and the complete sham of a relationship between my father and mother, I promised myself that romance and love wouldn't get in the way of my life. It only hurts you. I fell back onto my bed, and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

* * *

I woke up, still in the same black dress and blazer from yesterday. My hair was a complete mess. I was a complete mess. I sat up and put my head into my hands. I wanted to crawl away and hide after last night.

"Hello Miss Isabel!" A cheerful voice said. Before I could realise it, Dobby appeared in front oh me.

"Hi Dobby" I croaked.

"Did Miss Isabel have a bad night?" he asked.

"You could say that" I said roughly. The house elf seemed puzzled, but then held a finger up, as if to say he had the solution.

"Dobby will get Miss Isabel's father" Dobby announced. _'No!' _my head screamed.

"Wait, Dobby - " I called, trying to get Dobby to stop, but he didn't. He walked right out of my office and into the one next to mine. I checked that all Occlumency barriers were in place. Father wouldn't want to try using Legilimency against me. I was a skilled Occlumens. Father wouldn't get past my mental barriers. I saw Father appear at the door, and he sighed at the sight of me.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"Nothing" I mumbled. At that very moment, Father attempted to get into my head. I resisted instantly. Father looked away, quite embarrassed that he had failed miserably.

"Don't try that again" I said. Father nodded, ashamed that he hadn't succeeded at his task to read my mind.

"Can you tell," I couldn't spit out the name, "Remus, that I don't feel up to teaching today."

"I will. But you must see Dumbledore about what your duty will be today while you aren't teaching."

"I will. I'll do it right now." I got up to leave, but Father put his arm in front of me, making a barricade between me and the door. I turned to Father and raised my eyebrows.

"What did I do this time?" I asked, putting my right hand on my hip.

"You look awful. Get yourself presentable before you leave this office" Father said plainly. I looked in the mirror and remembered that I actually did look dreadful. I couldn't help but laugh. Father looked down at me, rolled his eyes and left my office. I brushed my hair so it was straight again, and I changed into different underwear and another black dress and blazer. I cleaned my make up so I didn't look like a zombie, and I was ready to leave my room.

* * *

I was walking through the corridors when I saw him turn the corner. I was mortified. I felt so uncomfortable at the sight of him. He called my name, and began to walk towards me, but I just walked right past him. I didn't even make any eye contact. I was being cruel. But he's the one who kissed me. I turned my head a little while I was walking to see him standing in the middle of the hall, looking down at himself. I had hurt him, but right now, it was the only way.

* * *

I arrived at Dumbledore's office and sighed. No teaching probably meant I had to do one of the boring jobs. Like patrol the corridor, or help Filch with something. "Sherbet Lemon" I said. The stairs appeared and I made my way up to the Headmaster's office.

"Good morning, Miss Snape" I heard Dumbledore's voice say as I barely entered the room. I walked in to see the Headmaster standing on the stairs, smiling down at me.

"Good morning, Sir."

"What can I do for you on this lovely morning?"

"I was wondering if you had any other jobs for me today apart from teaching. I'd assume Remus could do without me for a day, and I wasn't feeling the best today." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. Crap, he knew something happened. He's Albus Dumbledore. Of course he knows.

"Did something happen between you and Professor Lupin yesterday?" He asked, his eyebrows still raised. I shook my head, hoping that he wouldn't pick up the lie.

"Of course not, sir." Dumbledore smiled and nodded.

"Affairs of the heart is something I do not specialize in, i'm afraid."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Professor" I lied. Dumbledore nodded again. He knew I was lying. He could see right through me.

"Well, Miss Snape. I do have one job for you. If you wouldn't mind, I would like you to just take a trip through the corridors. Sirius Black is on the loose, as you know, and I cannot take any risks. Even if it is broad daylight. Look out for anything suspicious."

"Of course, sir. I'll do it straight away." I began to leave the room when Dumbledore called out to me.

"I do hope you and Remus sort out your troubles!" I rolled my eyes as I left the room. I was so stupid to think that I could keep something like that from Albus Dumbledore. Incredibly stupid. I left the Headmaster's office and began my patrol through the corridors.

* * *

I walked through the corridors of Hogwarts. One after the other. Countless amounts of portraits tried to start conversations with me.

"_Are you Severus Snape's daughter?"_

"_Weren't you a student here last year?"_

"_My, you do look pretty today!"_

"_She looks stuck up. Are you sure she isn't a Black?"_

By the end, the portraits seemed to get desperate to talk to me. But I was too preoccupied with my thoughts. My thoughts about Remus. My thoughts about teaching. My thoughts about Father. My thoughts about Sirius Black. My thoughts about Tonks, Bill & Charlie. And my thoughts about Lucius. Some of them I didn't want to think about at the moment. Especially Lucius. A shiver went up my spine as I thought of the tall, platinum haired man.

* * *

I was walking through the corridor when I bumped into someone familiar. The round glasses, the scar on his head. It could only be Harry.

"Hey Harry."

"Hi Isabel. Excuse me...Professor Snape." I laughed and smiled at the brown haired boy.

"Only students I don't like have to call me Professor Snape. So you are free to call me Isabel" I told him. Harry laughed.

"It was funny, yesterday in Defence Against the Dark Arts. I think most of us were relieved you weren't biased towards the Slytherin students." I raised my eyebrows. Most of us? So were the class taking bets on whether I was biased or not?

"Why would I be biased towards three idiots?" Harry laughed even more.

"Can I ask you something?" I nodded and Harry sat on one of the seats in the corridor. He patted the seat, indicating for for me to sit down. I sat down next to Harry and smiled.

"So, what do you want to know?" I asked.

"Um - alright. I was just wondering why that dementor attacked me on the train. I mean, you've heard about it. I think. And no one will really tell me straight out. And I was just wondering why me?" I sighed. Harry had asked something very difficult of me. I didn't know him like others did. But then again, I did know Harry. We were friends. He always told me about his family. His parents. And his friends. And his muggle family the Dursley's. Not that he'd tell me they were his 'family'.

"Well, Harry. It's a difficult question. But, I would think it's because of how many traumatic and scary experiences you've had."

"Really?" I nodded. Harry looked down and sighed.

"I know it may feel like you're the one at fault sometimes. But it isn't your fault Harry. Nothing is your fault. You have had terrible things happen to you, and it isn't fair. I always wish that I had the courage and strength that you do Harry. You're an amazing person, and don't ever doubt it" I told him. A small smile crept up on Harry's lips and he stood up.

"Thanks, Professor - I mean, Isabel."

"Yeah. See you later, Harry." Harry smiled and walked past me, turning to give me a wave before he disappeared from my sight.

* * *

The day went past slowly. Slower than most others. No sign of Black. Great. My legs were extremely tired from walking around the castle all day. It gave me time to think about everything though, which was good. I came up with a plan for next time I'd make a visit to the Malfoy Manor, which would prove handy. I also realised that there had been signs about Remus' feelings for me. I mean, at the Sorting Ceremony, he called me exquisite, stunning and attractive all in the time space of about forty seconds. I know nothing about any of this kind of stuff. Which is why I felt so stupid. I sighed and walked into the office of the only person I could talk to.

"Why, hello Isabel" a voice said to me as I entered the the office of my old Transfiguration teacher and now colleague, Minerva McGonagall. She was smiling warmly, until the smile faded when she saw the confused look on my face.

"I need to talk to you about something, Minerva. I'm incredibly confused and I don't know what to do." I was playing with the bottom of my blazer, not wanting to look up. If I did, I was afraid she'd see right through my like Dumbledore did. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. I quickly exhaled and looked up, attempting to seem as if nothing was troubling me.

"Well, come sit down dear, and we'll discuss your problems." Minerva guided me to a seat, and she sat next to me. Minerva patted my leg and smiled sweetly. If there was one person who I could have as a mother figure, apart from Andromeda, it was Minerva.

"Tell me, my dear. What is troubling you?"

That was it. My emotions were getting the better of me. The words were coming out, and there was nothing I could do about it. I had to tell Minerva. For my own good. Keeping my feelings locked up inside won't do me any favours at all.

"I feel so stupid" I sighed.

"Why do you feel stupid, dear? You are nothing of the sort! If someone has said otherwise and made you feel this way, I'd be glad to talk to them..."

"No, Minerva. No it's not that at all. It's a lot more embarrassing and complicated then that. Last night, after Remus and I had finished detention with Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle, we had a moment." Minerva's eyebrows lifted as she took this information in. I really didn't want to seem like a complete tramp. Remus was how many years older than me? I felt so, so, so stupid telling her this. I was an eighteen year old girl. Hardly a woman.

"What kind of moment?" she asked, her tone full of surprise.

"Well, I was attempting to move a table so that we wouldn't have to move them before today's lessons. I was so stupid that I didn't use my wand to do it. I wasn't thinking. Anyway, Remus helped me. It was quite tense at that moment. He stood over me, put a strand of hair out of the way and then, he kissed me." Minerva nodded.

"Well, dear, what did it feel like?" I was totally astonished and caught off-guard my Minerva's question. I thought she would be disgusted with me. Disgusted with Remus. Disgusted with the both of us.

"There were no...fireworks. That's how I had imagined a kiss between two people that love each other to be. Fireworks. Sparks. There was none of that. The whole time I was just thinking _'get away from him'. _I feel so horrible..."

"And do you have feelings for him?"

"I-I-I don't think so. We're very good friends. I don't think it goes past friendship."

"Well, Isabel, the advice I give to you is number one, don't tell your father," she told me as I giggled, "and secondly, be honest with Remus. If he has feelings for you, he will be hurt, but he will understand." I nodded and my lips crept up into a small smile.

"Thank you, Minerva. I think I'll go and see him now, or it'll be even more awkward tomorrow."

"Don't you need to eat?"

"Not hungry" I called out as I was leaving her office.

* * *

I stood outside the door of the Defence Against the Dark Arts room. _'You either go in and do two things, Isabel. The first, you go in and play pretend with him. You go and pretend you have feelings for him and you make him happy. You play around with him for a few years until you get bored and then it's all over, or that is until he proposes to you and decides he wants to marry you. Either way, you don't take it further once you get bored. You hurt him so much he doesn't want to leave the same room. He never speaks to you again. Or you can go in and tell the truth. Tell Remus that you don't feel anything for him and that the kiss was not like kisses are supposed to be. Although, Isabel, what would you know about kisses? Remus has been your only kiss! Anyway, Take your pick.' _My head was way too logical for it's own good. I chose number two. I couldn't hurt Remus. I just couldn't. He's been too good to me. I opened the door and walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts room. _'No turning back now. You have to talk to him!'_ I walked up the stairs leading to Remus' office and I knocked on the door.

"Come in" he said. I opened the door slowly to see Remus sitting at his desk. He looked as tired as I did. It was obvious we both had rough nights last night. He sighed at the sight of me and looked down.

"Hi" I said softly, sitting at the chair opposite him. Remus pretended as if he were marking an essay or a paper set by a student. He didn't want to talk. He probably wasn't the talking type. I bet he wasn't the listening type either. And I bet he thought that he wasn't going to be rejected.

"Hello" he replied. We both sat there feeling very uncomfortable. We tried not to make eye contact, but I knew we had to talk it out.

"Remus, I need you to be completely honest with me. Please. Do you have feelings for me?" Remus sat back in his chair and put his head in his hands before looking back up at me. He stood up and came to sit in the chair next to me.

"You want me to be completely honest?" he asked. I nodded.

"I do. I have feelings for you. In this month or so I've known you, I've grown close to you and I feel as if I can trust you." I tried to come up with something to say back to this.

"Why would you have feelings for someone like me?" I whispered. Remus looked taken aback by what I had just said. He leaned forward and whispered back to me.

"Isabel Snape, you listen to me. You are kind hearted, you're warm, you're selfless, you're smart, you know what you want and you're insanely beautiful. The first time I met you, I thought you weren't real, because I had never met anyone as attractive as you." I blushed at the words coming out of Remus' mouth.

"Remus - "

"And Isabel, the sad part is that I shouldn't have any feelings for you whatsoever! You're too young and I'm too old. I'm too poor. I am not anything, and to top it off I have major problems! Major, major issues that no one should be involved with. But I can't help my feelings for you, no matter how small or strong they are."

"Please, Remus - "

"And I don't care about your father. I wouldn't care if he came up and punched me in the face right this very minute. He doesn't live your life for you and I - "

"Remus!" I shouted. He stopped his rant at that moment and looked at my eyes. Tears were filling up my eyes quickly.

"Remus," I breathed, "I don't...I don't return any of those feelings for you." Remus looked down to his side and stood up. He looked as if I had just shot him with a gun. I had just broken Remus Lupin. _'Well done for telling the truth. Not wishing to alarm you at all, Isabel, but he's not taking it to well. If I would say it correctly, he's quite heartbroken.' _My head was right. Remus looked devastated.

"Remus..." I murmured, reaching for his arm. Remus tore his arm away from my reach and walked to stand on the other side of the room.

"Please, Remus."

"I shouldn't be at all surprised though, should I?" he snapped, "I heard what they said about you. Slutty, Skanky Snape. All the girls coming out of Slytherin nowadays are skanks. But actually, that's never changed. With the exception of Andromeda Tonks, most Slytherin girls are pretty much tramps. There's Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange...and guess what, now there's you. I should of known it. Especially with the way you are around all men. People said you were involved with Oliver Wood, Percy Weasley, Charlie Weasley and Bill Weasley. Some even said you were involved with Draco Malfoy! I would assume that's what you sluts do, you go around with anyone you can possibly get with." The tears that had formed in my eyes had now started to fall down my cheeks. How could he say something like that? I thought he was my friend. I stood up and patted myself down, now feeling dirty at the words Remus had spoken to me.

"I can't believe you said that about me" I muttered. Remus looked at me, his expression one of regret and one of anguish. I turned on my heel and left Remus' office. I quickly walked down to the dungeons where my office was, careful not to look up so any teachers would see me like this. I entered my office to see my father standing there.

* * *

I quickly made my way into my Father's arms and cried. He slowly put his arms around me. My father was hugging me. This wasn't a common occurrence, but when it did happen, I felt warm and safe.

"What happened to you?" Father asked. I couldn't reply. I just shook my head and cried. Father sighed.

"Was it Lucius?" I shook my head.

"Was it any of the students?" I shook my head.

"I-I-I don't w-w-want to t-talk a-about it" I cried, inhaling sharply and exhaling sharply. I could barely make out my own words. I tightened my arms that were around my father. I became silent and just stood there.

"It will all be okay" my father whispered to me. This was the moment I had always wanted to have with my father. I was hurt. I was broken. And father was holding me in his arms, telling me it was going to be alright. I felt safe. I didn't feel cut. I didn't feel vulnerable. I felt as if I had a shield protecting me. My father was that shield, and he was the only one capable of handling me.

"Don't try and get into my head. I may be mentally cut up at the moment, but that doesn't mean I'll let my guard down" I whispered in a lighter tone to my father. I felt him shake his head.

"Now isn't the time, is it? Now is the time for me to act like a father and just be there for you." I smiled and closed my eyes. I liked this feeling. I liked feeling warm and feeling safe. I wouldn't give up this moment for anything in the world.

* * *

**A/N: What a lovely moment between father and daughter! I know what your all thinking about Remus...but he was just angry. If I were him, I'd probably be a little angry too, seeing as he was just rejected by the daughter of Severus Snape.**

**Review, please! I will update soon if I get reviews!**


	18. Surprises

**A/N: Hello, hello. Here again for another chapter! If this is your first time reading my chapter, welcome! I thought I'd update pretty quickly. I don't know why, I just did.**

**Thank you to those who reviewed last chapter and put my story on their favourite stories list. **

**I'd like to especially thank the always amazing RainingTearsandPixieDust who never fails with her reviews! And ThoughtVortex, who also is one of my very good friends, you never disappoint me with your incredibly weird reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Would of thought you'd know that by now...**

* * *

A few weeks had passed, and Remus and I were attempting to keep our relationship civil. Especially while teaching. He wouldn't look at me if he didn't have to. He wouldn't talk to me if he didn't have to. It was partly my fault. But I couldn't understand why he'd been so angry. At least I was honest with him. Apart from classes, we didn't spend any time together at all. Most of my time now was spent with Minerva, or helping Father to grade some sort of essay he had set.

The sun came up on a new day, and I felt the best I had in a while. I felt positive. I jumped up out of bed and made myself presentable. I knew what I had to do today. I had to set the record straight with Remus. He wasn't going to call me a skank. If he did, I'd tell him to shut up and listen.

* * *

I walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom to see Remus standing at the front. He didn't make any eye contact with me. I decided now was not the time. It was better to confront him when I knew no students would be listening. Or worse...my father. To start the day, we had Percy Weasley's N.E.W.T class. Lovely. Remus started to ramble on about how to combat various dark spells. I wasn't really in on the class. I sat in the corner and just stared at the ground. I glanced up to see Percy looking at me, a concerned look on his face.

'What's wrong?' he mouthed. I shook my head.

'Don't worry' I mouthed back.

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah, I am. Trust me.'

"Mr. Weasley" Remus suddenly said. My attention turned to Remus who was standing over Percy. I rolled my eyes and sighed. Percy looked frightened. I'd say that this is probably the first time that Percy has ever been told off by a teacher. He seemed clueless about what was going on.

"Is there something that you and Professor Snape would like to share with the class?" he asked, looking at me and then back at Percy. I swear Percy quivered slightly.

"No, sir" Percy replied, as politely as he could.

"I will talk to you after class" Remus told him coldly. Remus turned away and walked back to the front of the class. I shook my head at Percy, to tell him not to worry. I would sort Remus out. Remus really didn't seem himself today. He was telling a Gryffindor off! And that Gryffindor was Percy Weasley. I was a little worried, to say the least.

* * *

The class had ended, and I walked over to Remus and Percy. Percy looked as if he were trying to get a word in, but Remus wouldn't have it. He'd just cut in as soon as Percy tried to explain himself.

"I was merely finding out if Professor Snape was alright" Percy said.

"You were disrupting my class."

"But, Isabel, I-I-mean Professor Snape, was seemed distracted and I just wanted to see if she was alright. I am sure that I wasn't interrupting anything" Percy told him, his voice shaky. I put my pale hand on Percy's shoulder and smiled. Percy looked at me in the corner of his eyes and smiled back.

"You can go now, Perce. I will explain to Professor Lupin." Remus shot me a death stare. He wasn't happy with me.

"Thanks, Isabel" he whispered in my ear. Percy nodded at Lupin and left the room. Remus stood there, furious.

"What gives you the right to dismiss the student I was talking to?"

"I am a teacher, I have as much right to dismiss a student as you do. And Percy was not disrupting the class. And you were much to harsh on him. You're acting ridiculous." Remus looked as if he were about to slap me. I turned around and walked back to my seat.

* * *

The end of the day came quickly. I was relieved to be honest. Now I could confront Remus and get all of this stupid tension that we have between us out of the way. I made my way to his office and composed myself. I may go in confident, but I may come out empty handed and crying my eyes out. I had to be ready for anything. I knocked on the door and waited for a reply.

"Yes?" I heard a warm tone say from inside the office of Professor R.J Lupin. I walked in slowly and there he was himself. His eyes stared at me blankly as I sat down. _'Take charge, Isabel. You are your father's daughter. And we don't take crap like this, do we?'_

"I didn't invite you to sit down" he snapped. _'Don't let him push you around. He will come around. Remus Lupin is not Lucius Malfoy.'_

"Well guess what Remus, I don't care" I spat back. He rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

"What do you want?" he asked in a rude tone.

"Well, firstly, I want you to grow up. I rejected you, so what. Everybody gets rejected. And second of all, I want you back. You aren't yourself, Remus. Please. We're friends."

"You are so like your father. You want me to be who Isabel Snape wants me to be. Not how Remus Lupin wants himself to be. You're just a stupid, immature little girl who wants to fool around with whoever she likes."

"Excuse me? I believe your the one who kissed me!" I retorted. Now I was getting angry. Very angry.

"I don't give a damn who kissed who, Isabel. You were flirting with me, it was quite obvious. So I took that as a sign and guess what, we kissed. I bet you were flirting with Lucius Malfoy too. How about you take a trip to the Malfoy Manor and get what you really wanted. Older men is what your interested in, and Lucius definitely seems interested in you. You seemed to like it the other night at the Malfoy Manor, seeing as you keep on telling everyone." I was shocked. How could he say that? I stood up and tried to fight back tears that were most definitely coming. I wasn't angry anymore. I was beside myself. I made my way over to the door but Remus grabbed my arm.

"I'm sorry" he said quietly, "I crossed the line by saying that."

"Is that what you think?" I snapped back. I thought Remus was my friend. To think that he would make a comment about Lucius and what he did to me. I took my arm out of Remus' grip, but he only grasped my arm again, this time he was tighter.

"Isabel, do you know why I got so angry?"

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't handle the rejection coming from you. We had gotten so close and I thought that you wouldn't possibly knock me back. I was that confident. I feel like such a fool." I sighed and sat in a chair. Remus sat next to me and smiled.

"That makes two of us. We're both fools" I told him.

"I am so incredibly sorry for the hurtful things I said about you. Really and truly sorry. I was out of line. It was unfair. Especially what I said to you about Lucius Malfoy. That was incredibly inappropriate."

"I don't quite like being compared to Bellatrix Lestrange. And I don't care to be called a tramp, either. And whatever you do, Remus, please do not bring up Lucius again. If you do I might have to hex you." Remus laughed under his breath and nodded.

"Point taken. So, it wouldn't be asking too much if I asked for us to be friends again, would it?" I smiled and shook my head.

"What would I do without a friend like you, Remus?" Remus suddenly looked sad again. I don't know what I had said to upset him. He nodded quickly and stood up.

"Well, yes" Remus mumbled. He seemed in a scramble and a rush.

"Have I upset you?" I asked. Remus shook his head.

"Never mind my ridiculous behaviour. I'm like that sometimes."

"Do you want to know something?" I asked Remus. He nodded.

"You stole my first kiss" I said softly.

"Are you joking?" he asked. I shook my head. He looked mortified.

"Merlin's beard! I am so, so, so sorry!" he exclaimed, "are you sure? A beautiful girl like you must have had a kiss before me!"

"Remus, I'm quite sure."

"I feel so terrible" Remus whispered to himself. I put my hand on Remus' arm and smiled. His gaze turned towards the floor. Remus was still acting a little odd. I wouldn't dare to question him, though. Not now.

"It's alright. Really. At least it wasn't Lucius Malfoy. Speaking of Lucius, I have to go to the Malfoy Manor tonight."

"Tonight?" Remus' eyes shot up as I said this and his expression turned to one of complete worry.

_Flashback_

"_Miss Isabel!" Dobby called, bursting into my office._

"_Hello, Dobby" I said smiling. Dobby smiled back and handed me a letter._

"_This came for Miss Isabel this morning. Dobby thought he should bring it to Miss Isabel straight away!"_

"_It's from Lucius Malfoy..." I whispered to myself. Dobby grew concerned and tried to look at my letter._

**Dear Miss Snape,**

**I am glad that we are able to meet again.**

**Please tell me when and I shall make myself free for then.**

**Lucius Malfoy.**

"_Is Miss Isabel okay?" Dobby asked. I turned on a smile for Dobby and nodded._

"_I'm fine Dobby. Thank you so much."_

"_Dobby is always here to help. Especially to help his new friend, Miss Isabel."_

"_I'm your friend?"_

"_Yes, of course. Unless Miss Isabel does not wish to be friends with Dobby" Dobby said, looking disappointed._

"_Of course not, Dobby. Of course we can be friends." Dobby's eyes grew brighter and he smiled._

_End of Flashback_

"I'll be fine. Really, I will. Lucius won't hurt me."

"You and I both know that it isn't a certainty, Isabel." Remus was right. It wasn't a certainty. But I had to do it. I didn't have many other options, really. Well, I didn't think I had any options.

"Please be careful" he said softly. I suddenly felt frightened by the fact that I would be around Lucius Malfoy tonight. I turned on a smile, attempting to assure Remus that I was fine and that I was going to be able to handle everything. The truth was that I wasn't going to be fine, and that Lucius was going to have control and I would just have to play it smart.

I walked back to my office, thoughts racing through my head. _'You listen to me tonight, alright?' _my head screamed at me. I had to use my head. It was often more reliable then my heart. _'You listen to me and we'll get out of tonight alive. Rule number one, do not, I repeat, do attempt to start a fight with Lucius. You'll be gone within two minutes.' _I strolled down the stairs leading to the dungeon, and made my way to my office. I walked in, not realising someone was standing in the corner.

* * *

"SURPRISE!" A man shouted from behind me. I jumped and nearly had a heart attack. I turned towards the man and couldn't believe who I was seeing.

"Bill!" I cried, jumping into his arms. This was incredibly weird. Bill Weasley was standing in my office just as I was starting to get ready to make a trip to the Malfoy Manor. He hugged me tighter before letting go.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I was just paying Dumbledore a visit on behalf of my father" he said plainly, shrugging his shoulders, "how's teaching?"

"Well, I'm not doing a lot of the teaching, but it seems I'm doing more of the punishing side of things." Bill laughed and shook his head.

"Fred and George not giving you any troubles?"

"Surprisingly, no, they aren't. Pansy Parkinson, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, all Slytherin students, are giving me the most trouble. I've never met a more stupid person than Pansy Parkinson. It's quite scary, actually."

"How's teaching alongside Lupin?" he asked.

"It's good, actually. All the students love him." My expression was one of stress. I didn't want to seem rude to Bill, since I haven't seen him in a while. But I had to get to the Malfoy Manor.

"Were you in a rush to go somewhere?" Bill asked, noticing my expression.

"Actually, I was" I told him, "I don't wish to be rude but - "

"But you have to get there in time? I completely understand. I'll come and visit you some other time. I promise." Bill hugged me tightly and smiled as he left my office. I put my black robes over my dress and blazer and put my wand in the tight pocket of my dress. I left my office and walked into Father's office.

* * *

"Where are you going?" he asked, noticing me.

"The Malfoy Manor, remember?"

"Oh, yes." Father stood up and walked over to me.

"Please, Isabel. Be careful. Do not let him make you do anything that you don't want to do." I put my arms around my father and hugged him tightly.

"He won't hurt me" I said softly. Father stepped out of the hug and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Do not be so trusting of him. Lucius Malfoy will hurt you if you give him a reason to do it." I nodded and smiled weakly. Father had a point.

"I'll be home as soon as I can, Dad." I stepped into Father's fireplace and put the hood of my robe over my head. I took floo powder and took in a deep breath.

"Malfoy Manor" I said. And with a flash of green light, I was gone.

I turned up in the same room as last time. Although, this time, the room was lit. I walked forward and looked around. Lucius wasn't in the room. _'Take this time to gather yourself' _my head told me. I closed my eyes and inhaled. Everything ran through my mind at that point in time. Lucius, Father, Remus, Tonks, Bill, Draco, Harry, Charlie, Minerva, teaching, potions, Spinners End, Greyback, Andromeda...

I opened my eyes and exhaled. _'Let's do this.' _I stepped forwards toward the door and took my wand out to open it. Suddenly, the door opened and the tall, pale, blond man that I had been fearing for the last few weeks stepped in the room. I put down the hood of my robe and took it off, as it was covered in ash.

* * *

"Miss Snape" he said, extending his arm. I held out my arm and turned on a smile. Lucius brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. A cold feeling ran through me. He made me feel terrified by is charm.

"Hello...Mr Malfoy."

"I thought I told you last time to call me Lucius" he told me, smirking.

"My apologies, Lucius." I felt so disgusted with myself. I don't know how I was continuing to play Lucius' game.

"You look ravishing tonight," Lucius told me, "but then again, you always look beautiful, Miss Snape."

"Come this way" he said, leading me out of the room. He held his arm out, indicating for me to take it. _'Play along, or it's the Cruciatus Curse for you!' _I took his arm reluctantly, and Lucius held my arm close to him. He walked slowly down a long hall. I've been down this hall before...last time I was here. The walls were lined with portraits.

"These paintings are of my ancestors" he told me, "all Slytherin, of course." The portraits were all so similar. The platinum hair, the pale skin. It was all to familiar.

"They're...lovely" I lied. Lucius' arrogant smirk turned into a smile. A genuine smile. _'Uh oh. What the hell do we do now? He's being real...'_ I hadn't planned for a honest Lucius. I had planned for a sarcastic and frightening one. He lead me to his sitting room. There were a few chairs, the walls were lined with books, and a fire was going. The room felt kind of warm. Lucius lead me to a chair and took his arm away from mine. I sat down and admired the room.

"Would you like something to drink? I have firewhisky...matured mead...actually, seeing as we're both adults here, and that you - Miss Snape - should only have the finest things..." Lucius said. I shivered slightly when he told me I should have fine things. What was he trying to do? Make me a substitute for Narcissa? Lucius handed me a glass of wine.

"Thank you" I said softly.

"You're manners are impeccable" Lucius told me, putting away the bottle's of mead and firewhisky, but leaving the bottle of wine out.

"I try to do my best. To keep a good reputation for myself."

"Don't we all?" Lucius laughed. Lucius sat in the chair opposite me as I took a sip of wine. He also sipped his wine before placing it on the table in front of us.

"I just want to apologise again for what happened between us last time you were here. It was extremely rude of me and I feel most outraged with myself." _'Lie. He feels most pleased with himself actually'. _I cleared my throat and closed my eyes to come up with what I was going to say next. I opened my eyes and smiled weakly.

"We all make mistakes, Lucius. Who am I to hold it against you?"

"I am most pleased that you have forgiven me, Miss Snape. I actually bought you a gift to make up for what happened" he said. _'Not a gift...' _Lucius passed me a silver box with a dark green ribbon around it. I opened it slowly to see a silver chain with a dark green snake pendant, and a silver line running through it.

"The green of the snake is emeralds. The silver is diamonds." I gasped. Lucius Malfoy bought me a present that is worth...a lot. I couldn't believe it. And I couldn't deny that the necklace was beautiful.

"What's the necklace your wearing now?" Lucius asked, locating the chain hanging from my neck. I moved my hair out of the way and showed Lucius the Thestral necklace that Father had got me.

"My father bought for me" I said. Lucius nodded as I rested the silver box on the table.

"Thank you, Lucius. The necklace is stunning. I cannot believe that you wasted all of that money on me."

"Don't be absurd. No one could ever waste money on you. And when I saw the necklace, I thought of you." Lucius laughed. I didn't get it. He was being so...romantic. It was frightening, a little creepy, and quite flattering at the same time. _'Isabel, don't fall for him. It won't end up well. We hate him, remember?' _My head was correct. I couldn't fall for someone like Lucius Malfoy. No matter how romantic he was being.

"Can I ask how your parents chose your name?" Lucius asked me, re-capturing my attention. I looked back up at Lucius to see him staring at me.

"I believe that my mother liked the name Isabel. Father didn't really care for any particular name, so mother called me Isabel."

"Isabel is quite a beautiful name" Lucius said. I knew where he was going with this. He was sick and tired of calling me Miss Snape. And that was one of the ways he knew he would feel he was getting closer to me. _'Play the game. Play his game' _my head shouted at me. I had to play his game. Why did my stupid freaking head have to be right all the time?

"Well, Lucius, seeing as you allowed me to call you by my first name, I shall allow you to call me by mine."

"Oh, Miss Snape, I don't really think that's necessary" Lucius said, in a sarcastic sounding tone.

"No, I insist" I told him.

"Well, if you insist" Lucius said, smiling. I was getting in way too deep with Lucius. I could feel it. I could see it. I could see him. He thought he was getting through to me. At this point in time, I started to question Lucius' actual motives. Did Lucius want me as a Death Eater, like Father first told me, or does he want me as something different? I was the shiny new toy. He was being affectionate towards me by the second. He thought I was interested. And unfortunately, that was becoming more realistic on Lucius' point of view every second I spoke a word to him. In Lucius' world, I was interested. In my world, I was scared stiff. Lucius was winning.

"How do you find teaching?" Lucius asked. Of course, I had told him, Draco and Narcissa in Diagon Alley that I would be teaching this year.

"It's fine. It seems I'm doing a lot more punishing than teaching, though."

"You're like your father, in that sense" he said. Why did everyone have to say that?

"It's quite a good subject to be teaching though, _Defence _Against the Dark Arts" I told him, putting the emphasis on the word defence.

"Naturally..." Lucius said, sounding bored. I took another sip of my wine to calm myself down. I didn't want to seem too jittery, because Lucius would take advantage of that. I hated to admit it, but Lucius was smart. And he was charming. _'Stop it, Isabel. He's no good! You know that. Do not let his mask distract you from how he really is. The man is a follower of You-Know-Who. Pureblood mania! If he ever found out that you were half blood..."_

"Let's talk about your family, Isabel." _'Right on cue.'_

"What is it you would like to know?" I would think that Lucius had thought of my father as a Pureblood, seeing as they are - were - good friends.

"Well, I know all about your father of course. Who is your mother?"

"Apolline Delacour. She lives in France with my half-sisters and my step-father" I told him, "Pureblood." He smiled. That was exactly what I wanted to hear. He didn't want to hear Muggle, Muggle Born or Half Blood, he wanted to hear Pureblood.

"What school do your half-sisters attend?" he asked.

"Beauxbatons." Lucius nodded, indicating that he had heard of the school.

"I personally wanted Draco to attend Durmstrang, but Narcissa said otherwise. She wanted Draco to be close to home." Durmstrang? I think that was the school in Bulgaria or something. I took the last sip of wine and the glass was empty.

"Would you like some more?" he asked.

"No. I believe being hungover wouldn't be good for my status at the school." Lucius laughed and nodded.

"You're right. I shall put this away then" he said, taking the bottle and storing it in a black wooden cabinet. I would of thought that Lucius would've shoved that bottle down my throat. He's full of surprises tonight. I looked up at the clock on the wall. It had been two hours since I had arrived at the Malfoy Manor. If I didn't get back to Hogwarts soon, Father would come looking for me.

"Would you look at the time!" I exclaimed, wanting to leave as quickly as possible.

"It is getting quite late" Lucius muttered.

"I am so sorry Lucius that I must leave, but as you well know, I do have classes to teach tomorrow!"

"Of course, of course" Lucius said, standing up. I stood up and walked over to Lucius.

"You can use this fireplace. It's much more trustworthy than the others" Lucius told me, smiling. I put my black robes back over my dress and blazer and smiled.

"Goodnight, Lucius. Thank you for being a delightful host." Lucius seized my hand and held it to his lips, as he had done earlier in the evening. He bowed before letting go of my hand.

"Goodnight, Isabel, I do hope that we will meet again sometime soon." I smiled and nodded. I picked up the silver box wrapped in green ribbon and put it in the pocket of my robes. I put the hood of my robes over my head and stepped into the fireplace.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Severus Snape's office." I had disappeared from the Malfoy Manor, and I arrived back in my father's office.

* * *

**A/N: What do you think Lucius is up to? Do you think he's gaining her trust to attempt to get her to join them, or do you think he wants her for something else? **

**I love Reviews, and I promise to get back to you if you write one!**


	19. Conflicted Feelings

**A/N: Hello again :)**

**Does anyone else feel as if they're getting more and more depressed as the date of July 15th approaches? For those of you who do not know (pfft, that should be none of you! You should all know!), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is released on July 15th. Every time I think about it, I get that little more excited, but just that little more depressed! I think someone will have to physically drag me out of the cinema. **

**Thank you to the awesome: **

**WritersOfTheGods - Yes, no incidents**

**HerAwesomeness - I'm glad that you have psychic powers**

**ThoughtVortex - Such an awesome friend you are :)**

**RainingTearsandPixieDust - Your reviews are always amazing. I am always glad to see your name pop up in a review.**

**Now a question (inspired by someone else's question on another story...you know who you are!): What do you think Isabel's patronus is? **

**Disclaimer: You should all be quite aware that I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

With a flash of green light, I arrived back in my father's office. I walked out from the fireplace to see Father sitting in a chair, reading a book. He looked up to see me, and breathed a sigh of relief. I took off my black robe that was covered in ash and straightened out my dress and blazer.

"It's late" Father said, putting his book to the side.

"I know, I know."

"How did everything go?" Father asked.

"Quite well, surprisingly."

"He didn't cause you much trouble?"

"No," I shook my head, "he was a welcoming host. He seemed a lot different than the last time I was there. He actually bought me a gift, which was a little weird." I passed Father the silver box with the dark green ribbon around it. Father opened the box to see the silver, emerald and diamond snake pendant hanging from the chain.

"It's obviously not cursed" Father muttered to himself, touching the necklace lightly.

"I'm not going to wear it" I told Father. He looked at me, his expression was one of surprise.

"It's expensive. Why would you not wear it?"

"One, it's from Lucius Malfoy, and two, I prefer the Thestral necklace much better." Father's lips crept up slightly. Not into a smile, but into a half smile.

"Very well. I think you should get to bed" Father told me. I nodded and hugged him.

"Thank you" I whispered while hugging him.

"For what?" he asked, putting one arm around me.

"For everything." I hugged him tighter for a second before letting go. I turned around and walked out of Father's office and into mine.

I didn't sleep that well. I kept thinking of Lucius. How warm he was towards me. How welcoming he was. Nothing about him seemed to add up properly in my books. And then my dreams turned to Remus. The night he kissed me. I didn't feel any romantic feelings towards him at all. Why did every single thing in my life have to be so complicated?

* * *

I woke up, not as early as other days, but quite early. After last night, I couldn't bare to teach any classes today. Thank heavens it was the weekend. I didn't quite know what to do with myself today. Wait a second, I had told Lucius I had classes to teach today...and he didn't pick up on it. Wow, that's a first.

* * *

I walked through the halls of Hogwarts, greeting students as they greeted me. It seemed like they happily accepted me as one of the Hogwarts staff. I was given a lot more respect than people such as Professor Flitwick and Professor Trelawney.

"_Hello, Professor Snape."_

"_Good morning Professor Snape."_

"_How are you today, Professor?"_

All the students were quite cheerful. It was a nice sight to see. It's different than the constant moping around I see my father doing. I didn't dare ask my father about why he seems so sad a lot of the time. Being on good terms with my father is never permanent.

"Isabel!" I heard a student call from behind me. I turned around to see Percy running towards me.

"Hey Perce" I said.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired. How about you?" I smiled warmly. Percy grinned and nodded.

"I'm good. Did Professor Lupin give you a rough time after I left yesterday? I am sorry for putting you in that position..."

"Perce, don't even worry about it. Professor Lupin was just having a rough day, and I'm sure he won't hold it against you. He was fine after you left. I had a good talk to him."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't worry about me, Percy, I'll be just fine." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Draco. He was standing there with a few of his so called friends. He was glaring directly at Percy and myself. Percy also noticed Draco. He turned his head and sighed at the sight of Draco.

"I guess it runs in the blood" Percy mumbled.

"Don't hold it against Draco, Perce. He hasn't exactly had the easiest upbringing."

"It's just - "

"His father? Trust me, Draco is nothing like his father. Not really." Percy raised his eyebrows when I said 'nothing like his father'.

"And you've met Lucius Malfoy, have you?" _'Crap. Don't let Percy in on this. Your father knows and so does Remus. That's enough for the moment. Percy is just a kid! Don't dump your problems on him!' _

"Yes, I met him at Diagon Alley before the start of school. Not a very pleasant man, I must say." Percy lowered his eyebrows.

"I agree. I should get going, Isabel. I'll see you later." Percy turned and began to walk off. I quickly grabbed his arm and turned him back to face me.

"I forgot to tell you, your brother was here last night. At Hogwarts I mean. Did you get to see him?"

"Which one?" Percy asked.

"Bill."

"Oh. And, no, I didn't get to see him. Did he look well?"

"Yes, he did. Very well."

"That's good to hear. I'll see you later" Percy said, again, turning and walking off down the corridor. My attention turned towards Draco, who was striding towards me.

"Morning, Draco" I said, smiling.

"Why were you talking to Weasley?" He asked, his tone vicious. I could soon regret saying he was nothing like his father. I truly believed Draco was different. He even said he hated his father. But what was that to stop him from believing in the crap that Lucius and maybe even Narcissa forced down his throat?

"Excuse me?" I replied, a little startled.

"You heard me" Draco said. I could see Vincent Crabbe, Pansy Parkinson and Gregory Goyle watching on with interest. Pansy seemed more interested than the other two.

"For your information, Draco, Percy Weasley is my friend, and has been for many years. Along with Bill, Charlie and Ron Weasley."

"Filthy blood traitors" he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that, Draco."

"Don't call me Draco!" he snapped.

"I can call you whatever I like, because I am a member of staff, and you have no such right to be talking to me like that. I'll see you in detention, Draco. Tonight at 6, in my office. It's right next to my fathers."

"You cannot treat me like this! I will tell my father!"

"Go ahead, Draco. I'll see you tonight" I scoffed, walking away from the blond, pale boy. Pansy saw this as an opportunity, and skipped right up to me. She caught the attention of Draco, who was now watching the two of us.

"Professor Snape, you're being incredibly unfair. It's not out fault that the Weasley's are blood traitors. It's just people with filthy blood don't belong at this school. You of all people should know that, you were in Slytherin!" I couldn't believe the crap coming out of this girls mouth.

"Pansy, do you want to spend a years detention with me?" I asked, coldly.

"No...Professor."

"Good. Now if you don't stop calling people Mudbloods and filthy blood traitors, I will put you in detention. And you can spend it with Professor McGonagall if you'd like." Pansy's back straightened up and she gulped. I smirked and turned away from the four Slytherins, feeling incredibly ashamed of what I had heard coming from them.

* * *

I walked into the office of the Head of Gryffindor house. Professor McGonagall wasn't in there, but I decided to wait for her. I had to talk to her. I was feeling so confused about everything. And I wanted to ask her if I had given the right punishment to Draco. I didn't know if I was too harsh on him.

"Oh, Minerva!" I exclaimed as she appeared.

"Isabel! Are you alright, my dear?" My pale face turned even whiter as I shook my head.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I am so confused. About everything." Minerva pursed her lips and looked at me sympathetically. She was the only one who could see that I was a mess. I was trying to hold myself together, but it wasn't working. I was going to collapse into a heap.

"I think it's time for a cup of tea" she said warmly, leading me to two chairs and a table. I sat down in one of the chairs and sighed. I only had male support with Lucius, but I couldn't tell her about that. And I couldn't talk to father about Remus. Minerva was the only female at Hogwarts I felt close to.

"Now," Minerva said, sitting down in the chair opposite me, "tell me whats going on. You don't look very well."

"I think my emotions are getting the better of me, Minerva."

"Why would you say that? Is it Remus again?"

"Yes...and no. I am so confused about everything. About Remus, my family, my place here at Hogwarts, Lucius - " Shit. _'Now you've done it Isabel. See what happens when you don't use me, Isabel? I'm your brain. You listen to me...and now that you've just completely blurted out our secret, you'll be in trouble'_. Minerva's face looked surprised. She definitely wasn't expecting for me to say Lucius.

"I didn't think I heard you correctly dear, did you say Lucius?" I nodded my head slowly and my eyes narrowed towards the floor. I didn't want a confrontation.

"What is this all about?" She asked. I sighed and put my head back.

"Lucius Malfoy and I have been in contact ever since the start of this year. I don't know what he wants from me, Minerva. The first night I was at the Malfoy Manor, he tried to take...advantage of me - in that way - and then last night I was at the Malfoy Manor, and he bought me a very expensive gift and he was being all...warm and romantic."

"Does your father know about this?"

"Of course he does. Him and Remus."

"Remus?"

"I blurted it out to him while I was all frustrated. Quite the same as I did just then, actually..."

"What was his reaction?"

"Anger. Shock. Surprise. Shock was the most common reaction. You, Father and Remus were all quite shocked. Wouldn't blame you though. Who would expect an eighteen year old girl like me to be hanging around with Lucius Malfoy?"

"Do you realise how dangerous this is for you?"

I nodded, "yes, actually, I believe I do."

"Draco does not know, does he?" Minerva asked quietly.

"No" I said, looking down towards the floor, "and I couldn't bare it if he did. Him and I just got into a fight, I don't need anymore." I sipped my tea and sighed. Minerva patted me on the hand.

"I can remember what it was like to be young. A lot less complicated." She smiled sweetly as I put the tea back onto the table.

"Minerva?"

"Yes, dear?"

"I felt like...well, when I was with Lucius the second time...I felt as if - as if I were falling for him. I kept trying to cut those sort of feelings out, but he was so charming and warm towards me. I knew it's a trap for something, but I can't help but feel it."

"These are situations where you must listen to your head instead of your heart. Lucius is indeed setting up a trap...and I don't blame you for those sort of feelings, Isabel, but Lucius isn't the one. Lucius nor Remus. He's out there and he will come to find you soon. But it really is not Lucius Malfoy."

"I'll just get hurt" I whispered.

"I'm afraid so." I took out the silver box with green ribbon and gave it to Minerva. I'd been carrying it around all day, wondering whether to wear it or chuck it into the Black Lake. Minerva untied the ribbon and opened the box. When she saw the necklace, she gasped.

"My, it is beautiful!" Minerva exclaimed, touching the necklace gently. She looked up at me with a surprised expression.

"Who on earth gave this to you? It seems very expensive!"

"Lucius" I told her. Minerva gasped again and looked at the necklace.

"Lucius Malfoy bought you this?" She asked. I nodded.

"I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful necklace. Shame it had to come from him."

"I'm not sure what to do with it" I told her, "I also think it's beautiful, but I think that if I wear it, it will show that - "

"That he means something to you?"

"Exactly."

"Wearing it doesn't have to mean that Lucius means something to you. What necklace are you wearing now?" Minerva held out her hand and I revealed my thestral necklace that Father had bought for me. She pursed her lips and smiled a little.

"Who bought you this?" She asked.

"Father" I replied.

"It's very pretty." I nodded, then sighed again. I looked at the two necklaces. What would my father think of me if I wore the snake pendant and revealed that it was from Lucius? Minerva sat back in her chair and gave me a sympathetic look.

"My dear, I cannot tell you what you must do. That is something that you must decide for yourself, for I cannot decide your path for you. I just want to make one thing clear though, Lucius Malfoy is a dangerous man. You are crossing him at a great deal of risk for yourself. I urge you, Isabel, do not fall for someone like him. He will only hurt you. And he'll hurt you greatly." I stood up from my chair my lips crept up into a weak smile.

"Thank you Minerva" I said softly. She nodded as I turned away and left her office. Now I was bewildered. I had to make my decision about Lucius soon, or I'd get in way too deep.

* * *

It was 6PM, and I was sitting in my office, writing a letter to Fleur. I felt so bad with myself that I had not been in contact with Fleur, like I had promised her. Even though everything that's happening in my life right now is totally and completely confusing me, she still deserved a letter from me once in a while.

_**Dear Fleur,**_

_**I want to start with an apology.**_

_**It's not fair that I haven't been in contact with you.**_

_**I broke a promise, and I am so, so sorry. **_

_**How is everything at Beauxbatons? **_

_**Is your studying getting harder?**_

_**Let me know if you need help with anything. **_

_**Anything at all.**_

_**I've started my job at Hogwarts.**_

_**It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, but I'm getting used to it.**_

_**It's not as bad as I thought it would be.**_

_**I'm working with some great people.**_

_**What else is happening in your life?**_

_**I bet it's better then what's happening in mine.**_

_**I miss you so, so much.**_

_**You're an amazing sister.**_

_**Love,**_

_**Isabel **_

_**X**_

I finished writing the letter and took my wand off my desk. I flicked open my door to see Draco, his hand ready to knock on my door.

"How did you - " Draco started to say.

"Don't ask. Come in" I said. Draco walked in slowly and sat in one of two chairs I had in front of the fire place.

"Hi" I said softly.

"Hello" he snapped back at me. And I thought he was a loyal friend...I guess I was wrong.

"Do you know why your here?" I asked. No reply.

"Draco, I was talking to you." No reply.

"...Draco, please."

"What is it, Isabel? You know something? I think Pansy was right about you. All you care about is your father and sucking up to your boyfriend, Lupin. You and Lupin would be a good couple actually. I bet that's what you do between classes. Sneak up to his office for a little make out session. Or is it more then that? Just try not to get pregnant, because that would be bad for the school's image." That was the moment. All this anger, confusion, sadness and all these other feelings just burst out of me. I cracked. I pointed my wand at Draco's face and glared at him. He looked as if he were about to faint.

"How dare you come to my quarters and speak to me like that! I have been nothing but good to you Draco and you threw it back in my face" I spat. My wand, still pointed at Draco's face, was ready to cast an attack on him. One bad word, and it'd go off. Draco's hands were trembling. He knew that I was dangerous like this.

"I-I-Is-s-abel...w-w-w-we can t-talk. I-I-m s-sorry" he choked out. I lowered my wand slowly and stepped back.

"Why, Draco? Just...why?"

"It gets to me sometimes."

"What gets to you, Draco? The pressure of popularity? The pressure of being the pin-up boy of Slytherin? The pressure of that daft and ugly Pansy Parkinson following you around all day? The pressure that your father puts on you?"

"You'd know all about the pressure that my father puts on people, wouldn't you." Shit. Did Draco know about me and Lucius? Crap, crap, crap. _'Don't give anything away. Say nothing!'_

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You'd know nothing about my father. The only time you've met him is when we were in Diagon Alley. You know nothing!" Draco spat. _'Close call, Isabel.' _I turned away from Draco and sighed. I wasn't getting through to him. It was a little sad.

"Draco, I'm trying to help you. With everything."

"Well stop trying to help me! Why would I need your help anyway?" I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I laughed a little bit. This shit was not necessary. I didn't have to worry over Draco.

"Just leave, Draco. I'm obviously not getting through to you, and you know what? It's really frustrating for me to get through to you. Go. Go and play the king in your little fantasy world, while Pansy can be queen, and your idiot friends can be your little sidekicks. I'm over it. Here, Draco, is the real world and some day you're going to have to learn that it's not all about you!" He stood up and walked towards me, his face full of anger. He whipped out his wand.

"Everte Statum" he said quickly. I pulled out my wand as quickly as I could and blocked the spell.

"Levicorpus!" I exclaimed. Draco rose into the air. He was making some sort of whining noise, but there were a few whimpers in there too. I put my wand away and Draco fell to the floor. He stormed out of my office, but before leaving he stopped at the door. I whipped out my wand again and flicked it so the door would slam on his face. I fell backwards into one of the chairs, kicked the floor and put my head in my hands. I began to cry. I felt so alone.

* * *

There was a knock at my door and I flicked my wand so the door would open slowly. Standing there, was Minerva.

"Isabel, you need to come quickly, there has been an- " Minerva started. She then saw my face as I looked up at her. My dark make up had run all over my face, and my eyes were quite red.

"Oh, my dear" she said, rushing over to me and taking me in her arms. I cried and cried. It wasn't just the fact that one of my closest friends and I just had a huge fight, it was to do with what he said about Lupin, and him mentioning Lucius.

"What's wrong my dear?" Minerva asked softly. I shook my head and tried to stop my tears.

"I d-d-on't feel u-up to sharing...what were y-you saying b-before?" I asked.

"You must come quickly. It is believed Sirius Black is in the castle!" Minerva exclaimed. I was taken back. How in the hell did Black manage to get in the castle?

"Shit" I whispered. I looked up to see Minerva's eyebrows were raised and I giggled a little, "sorry, Minerva. I'll come as soon as I get cleaned up."

"Not to worry, dear" Minerva said, pointing her wand at my face. She gave it a little wave and I could feel my make up running back into place. I didn't look like a train wreck anymore.

"You look lovely, now come" Minerva said, leading me out of the room. I took my wand out and held it in front of me. Minerva and I walked up the stairs and into a corridor. It was quite deserted.

"The students are in the Great Hall" Minerva whispered.

"Ah." I nodded.

* * *

Minerva and I continued to search the halls of Hogwarts. We asked many portraits, but they hadn't seen anything of him. The story seemed the same with Minerva and myself. No sign of Black. Minerva told me I was to report my findings to Dumbledore who was in the Great Hall. I made my way into the Great Hall to see a mass of sleeping students. Standing in the middle was Dumbledore and my father. I walked up to them and smiled at the Headmaster weakly.

"No sign of Black" I told him.

"Good, good" he said softly.

"Did I interrupt something?" I asked.

"No, no matter. We were finishing, weren't we, Severus?"

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Are you coming back to the dungeons, Isabel?" Father asked me. I nodded and turned to Dumbledore.

"Goodnight, Headmaster."

"Goodnight, Miss Snape. Sweet dreams." Father and I left the Great Hall swiftly and made our way down to the dungeons, also making sure we locked many of the doors, so that no unwanted visitors would come during the middle of the night.

* * *

**A/N: How mean was Draco! And Sirius Black is getting closer...what do you think will happen? Click the Favourite Story/Story Alert button, and also review!**


	20. Melancholy

**A/N: Hey guys, how are you all? Good, I hope. Gosh, I've been tired lately. You know, I've been writing this story up until around midnight because I can't get to sleep? I call it 'Harry Potter fanfic therapy'. It helps. I end up having sweet dreams about me being a student at Hogwarts. It's nice.**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

The rest of the weekend was quite uneventful, I must say. Sirius Black seemed to have slipped out unnoticed. Even though the guy's a mass murderer, he's a freaking genius. How the hell did he manage to get out of Azkaban undetected? And now he slipped out of Hogwarts unnoticed. Who in the name of Merlin can do that?

* * *

I was woken by Father. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me to wake me up. I sat up slowly, half awake.

"Isabel, we have classes to teach" he snapped, standing over my bed.

"What do you mean we?" I croaked, standing up slowly.

"It seems that Lupin is unable to teach today, and Dumbledore does not think you are ready to teach alone, so he has assigned me to teach your Defence Against the Dark Arts classes."

"Great" I muttered.

"Now get ready!" he said, leaving my office swiftly. I was so tired. I stood up and walked towards my mirror. My hair was all messy and I looked like a train wreck. I grabbed my wand and flicked it so my hair would go back into place. It was one of the many spells I had learned from Andromeda. Suddenly, my hair was all straight and in place again. I got changed into the usual and tucked my wand into my pocket.

* * *

I walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts room and all the students were already sitting down. It was the class of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and much to my dismay, Draco.

"Morning, class" I said, walking in.

"Good morning, Professor Snape." I sat down at my usual chair at the front and waited as the rest of the students did. Pansy Parkinson set off a note in the air, and was sending it in Hermione's direction. I took out my wand and pointed it in the direction of the note.

"Finite Incantaten" I said, my tone full of boredom. The note burst into a small flame and quickly turned to nothing. Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle and Draco all shot me glares. I just smirked at them and turned to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus and Dean, who were all laughing. I winked at Harry and he beamed. I guess he was happy to have a teacher who stuck up for him. I heard the door slam and soon enough, Father appeared. The smile on Harry's face turned to a frown. Father set up everything for what I would call _his _classroom. He liked everything to be dark. No idea why. He just did. I was surprised by what Father began teaching too. He began talking about werewolves. I raised my hand slowly, feeling like a student.

"I believe that we aren't supposed to be starting werewolves" I told him. He completely ignored me and kept going on. This was very odd. Why the hell did he come in here and start teaching the students about werewolves. God, Father could be really thick sometimes. But that was it, wasn't it? Father, whether I liked it or not, could do what he liked.

* * *

After the lesson was finished, I approached my father. I wanted to know what this werewolf business was about.

"Interesting lesson" I said.

"Yes, well..."

"Why did you start teaching them about werewolves? That isn't the topic that Remus and I were up to with the students." Father's lips pursed at the name Remus. Something was going on. Something that I didn't know. However, it might not concern me, so my decision was to stay out of it. I didn't want to strain my relationship with my father or Remus anymore.

"Why don't you go and ask Professor Lupin that question" Father said plainly. I nodded. I knew Father wouldn't tell me anything. I turned away and returned to my chair. I started to grade essays that Remus had set for the N.E.W.T class. I guess Father didn't really need me for today. I would be quite interested to hear what Lupin had to say about my father teaching about werewolves, however, I had no idea where he was.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Isabel?"

"Where exactly is Remus?" I asked.

"Ask Lupin when you see him next" Father answered, sounding slightly protective. Of me, that is. Not Lupin.

* * *

The rest of the day went on quite boringly. I just sat there marking essays, taking points off students that acted like complete imbeciles and tried to come up with theories of where Remus had taken off to. _'Maybe, just maybe he has a secret wife or girlfriend, and he went to see them' _my head told me. God, I hope he didn't. The thought of him having a girlfriend was a little strange for me. And it hurt a little. _'I thought you said you don't have feelings for him' _my head teased. Actually, yes, I thought I didn't have any feelings for him, but I couldn't help but feel jealousy if he did in fact have a wife or girlfriend.

"Daydreaming, are we?" Dumbledore asked. The Headmaster was sitting on a chair next to me, smiling. I suddenly broke out of my trance. Father was not in the room, and there were no students.

"I think so, sir" I told him.

"There's nothing wrong with daydreaming, Miss Snape. I find it quite productive. When I was a student here, I would sometimes find myself daydreaming while in Herbology." I laughed a little. I couldn't blame him. I hated Herbology, too. I mean, I was good at it, but I hated it.

"May I ask what your daydreaming about? It's not often that I catch teachers daydreaming..."

"Oh, nothing."

"Miss Snape, I can assure you that your secrets are safe with me. I'm not a fourth year Ravenclaw girl, I do not go and tell the first person I see the last thing that I heard."

"Where did Remus go?" I asked. Dumbledore's lips curled up into yet another smile. It sometimes astounded me at how much he knew about things without being told.

"I am not the right person to tell you that, Miss Snape. You can ask Remus himself when he gets back." I sighed. Why would no one tell me?

"I can assure you though Miss Snape that he is definitely single and that he has no romantic partner at this point in time. Although, I believe he quite likes this young girl" Dumbledore said, bowing his head, obviously showing me that he knew about Remus and I.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Headmaster."

"As I have told you, I do not specialize in affairs of the heart, but I can try to give you advice." I gave up. I couldn't honestly keep something like this from Dumbledore. He knew what was going on. He knew everything.

"How did you know, Headmaster?" I asked quietly. Dumbledore patted me on the back gently and sat back in his chair.

"Remus talks about you. He speaks so highly of you. But the way he speaks, it's with such adoration. And one day, he came to me and confessed that he and you had a romantic moment a few weeks ago. I then knew how much he cared for you, Miss Snape. But as I see it, you do not return the feelings."

"Still...how do you know everything without me telling you?"

"So you don't return the feelings that Remus has shown for you?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring my question.

"I'm afraid not" I said quietly.

"It isn't a crime to not love someone in return" Dumbledore told me.

"But I've hurt him."

"Everyone must deal with hurt and rejection at some point in their lives. That rejection now has come from you, and our friend Remus did not react well to it. I hope your on good terms now?"

"Yes, we are, Headmaster."

"Good, good. Now, I sense something else is troubling you." What the hell? How could he read me like an open book? I was sure my Occlumency barriers were in place...

"No, sir" I lied.

"Miss Snape, I am very old, and if I do say so myself, very wise. I know that something else is troubling you and it isn't Remus."

"I don't think I can tell you the other thing, Professor Dumbledore. It would break me. I would be breaking a promise that I had made to myself." Dumbledore nodded, stood up and retreated. I just couldn't tell the Headmaster about Lucius.

"Very well. But if you need anything at all, feel free to talk to me."

"Of course, Professor" I said as the Headmaster left the room. I stood up and sighed. There would be no use in me sitting in this room, waiting for Remus to return. I walked out swiftly. _'Space, Isabel. That's what you need'. _My head was so right. It was annoying.

"Shut up" I whispered to myself, directing that comment at my head.

* * *

I went back to my quarters, quite confused about the whole 'where's Remus' situation. He obviously wasn't missing, because Dumbledore and Father both knew where he was. It just sucked that they wouldn't tell me. My head was spinning, and I was so tired and confused that I could just die.

"Hello Miss!" A cheerful voice said, appearing at the door.

"Dobby. Hello" I said, greeting the small house elf, "come in." Dobby walked in and stood in front of me.

"Dobby, sit down, please. You don't have to wait for me to ask you."

"Thank you, Miss Isabel. Miss is very kind." I smiled at Dobby as he took a seat next to me.

"Can I ask you a question, Dobby?"

"Anything, Miss Isabel."

"Do you even work here?" I asked. I had never seen Dobby around Hogwarts. It was a little weird.

"No, Miss, I don't. Dobby is a free elf." I nodded and rested my hands on my knees.

"Then how come you always see me?"

"Dobby was asked by Dumbledore at the start of the year to make friends with Miss Isabel, so Miss wouldn't be lonely at Hogwarts." I was surprised. And happy.

"Ok then, Dobby." We sat there for a little bit. Dobby seemed quite pleased with himself in making friends with me. Dobby was quite the character, too. I was comfortable around Dobby.

"Is Miss alright?" Dobby asked.

"Dobby, I'd be lying if I said I was. But I cannot share it with anyone, including you. Sorry."

"Dobby understands, Miss" he said, lowering his head.

"I'm sorry Dobby." Dobby smiled a little.

"I forgot to ask, why did you come here?"

"Oh, Dobby wanted to come and visit Miss Isabel. Dobby thought you might of needed a friend." I smiled. That was very sweet of the tiny creature. Dobby, unlike some house-elves I've met before, was warm hearted and kind. It was nice to see. A good change. I needed someone to smile at me at this point in time.

"Thank you, Dobby. I did need a friend. You're extremely kind to me."

"Dobby thinks Miss Isabel is kind, too."

"Thanks, Dobby." There was a knock at my door and Dobby looked at me.

"Can you tell them to go away, unless its Dumbledore, Minerva or Dad." Dobby nodded and walked to the door and opened it. I didn't want to face the door. I didn't feel like visitors at the moment, and if they could see me, they'd more likely want to come in.

"Miss Isabel isn't up to visitors at the moment, Miss."

"Dumbledore sent us, though! He said she needed cheering up" a familiar voice argued with the small house elf.

"Nymphadora, if Isabel isn't up to visitors..." another familiar voice said.

"Dobby" I said, standing up, realising who was at the door, "let them in!"

"Of course, Miss Isabel" Dobby said, opening the door to reveal Tonks and her mother, Andromeda at the door.

"Tonks!" I shouted, jumping into her arms. She hugged me tightly back.

"Hey" she said, her voice muffled by my shoulder. I was considerably taller then Tonks, which got on her nerves sometimes. She let go of me and I turned to Andromeda.

"Hello, darling" she greeted, wrapping her arms around me tightly. Andromeda was very caring towards me from the first time I met her. Tonks also thought she was a little protective.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked, letting go of the tight hold that Andromeda had on me.

"We got an owl from Dumbledore not long ago, saying you needed cheering up" Tonks told me.

"That man..." I muttered.

"Well, we're here now..." Tonks started to say. I took my wand out and pointed it towards a chair in the corner of the room.

"Accio chair" I said. The chair came flying towards Dobby, Andromeda, Tonks and myself and it stopped just behind Andromeda. She sat in it as Tonks and I sat in the other two chairs next to the small table.

"Dobby will go now. Dobby will see Miss Isabel soon..."

"Thank you, Dobby" I said, smiling at the house elf. Dobby's big green eyes lit up as he turned around and ran out of my office.

"You're gaining friends left right and center! You didn't tell me you were friends with a house elf..." Tonks said.

"She's full of surprises, Nymphadora" Andromeda said. I poured some tea out of the teapot sitting on the table into three glasses and one tea cup to Andromeda and the other to Tonks. Tonks nodded her head in appreciation and Andromeda smiled.

"Thank you, darling. How's teaching going?"

"Fine, I guess - "

"What's the guy your working with like? Is he hot?" Tonks asked, cutting me off. Andromeda hit Tonks in the arm and I had to try to hold back laughter.

"Nymphadora Tonks! Isabel was in the middle of answering an important question and you ask whether the man she's working with is good looking! What on earth is wrong with you, child? You were saying, Isabel?"

"I guess I have a lot to learn. I seem to be pretty good at dishing out punishments."

"You take after your father in that area, then" Tonks said softly. Andromeda rolled her eyes.

"You'll have to forgive Nymphadora's rudeness today, Isabel. She's not being very sensitive."

"It's quite alright, Andromeda" I told her, trying to get her to calm down a little. She looked as if she were about to hex her daughter into next week.

"How's your relationship with Snape senior holding up?" Tonks asked.

"Dad and I are doing fine. We seem to be growing closer." Andromeda looked up on to the mantlepiece to see the photo of my father and I and smiled.

"I'm glad you two are forming a closer bond" she said, "I love this photo of you, Nymphadora, Bill and Charlie. It's beautiful." Andromeda stood up to inspect the two other photos.

"Who's the woman in this photo?" She asked, holding up the photo of me and my mother.

"That's my mother. And the girl in the other photo is my sister, Fleur."

"Your sister attends Beauxbatons, doesn't she?" Tonks enquired.

"Yes, she does" I replied, nodding.

"Your mother is very pretty" Andromeda said.

"Her mother is half-veela, mum" Tonks told her.

"Really? Then that makes Isabel..."

"I'm quarter veela" I said. Andromeda looked amazed.

"It is quite unusual for people with veela heritage to have dark hair and dark eyes" Andromeda told me, moving back to her seat and leaning forward, her tea cup in one hand, her other hand resting under her chin.

"I guess my father's genes were stronger."

"I guess so" Tonks said, sounding completely uninterested.

Andromeda smiled at me, attempting to apologise on behalf of her daughter. I got where Tonks was coming from. She wasn't that type of person. She couldn't give a damn who was on her family tree, what her heritage was. She didn't care. All she cared about was then and there. Her family and friends that were around her. It was quite a good theory to go by actually. Though, she was completely different to me. I was interested in the history of my family and friends...and the history of magic all together. I guess that's what made me so annoying.

* * *

After a few hours of long conversation about schooling, the Auror office, the Black's, Sirius Black, the Ministry of Magic, my father, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Slytherin, Andromeda and Tonks had decided to call it a night. Even though they were like my family, I was kind of happy they were leaving. I was tired and I needed my rest.

"Well, I hope Dumbledore allows us to visit soon, darling" Andromeda told me, putting her arms around me and giving me a tight hug. She pulled back, patted my cheek and the top of my head and stood back, allowing Tonks to access me. Tonks put her arms around me and hugged me, in the exact same type of hug her mother just used.

"See ya, Snape" she said, her voice once again muffled by my shoulder. She tightened her grip on me for a few seconds before letting go and smiling.

"I will visit soon, have no doubt about it. Dumbledore can't stop me!" she said, winking. I rolled my eyes and laughed. She moved backwards and fell over the leg of a chair. She stood up immediately and brushed herself off.

"Ha. Silly me. I must start to get more composed" Tonks said, as if she were talking to herself.

"See you soon, darling!" Andromeda called out as she was leaving the room.

"See ya Snape!" Tonks yelled. I heard her tell her mother off for pulling her shirt too hard, and with that, the two women of the Tonks family were gone. I sighed as I fell back onto my bed. I was so tired...

"Isabel" I heard someone say. Great, just in time.

"Hello..." I said, looking up, "Dad." My father was looking down at me, shaking his head.

"Isabel, why are you entertaining people this late?"

"I didn't know they were coming!"

"Try and be more organised then. I was in the middle of attempting to get to sleep when I heard a certain friend of yours yelling."

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"Try to make sure it does not happen again" he said, coldly. Father turned on his heel and walked swiftly out of my office. I quickly got changed into my pajamas, jumped into bed and fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: I feel really guilty. I promised myself I wouldn't write any filler chapters, and this chapter was a filler chapter. And it was shorter then most chapters I've been writing lately. I feel really bad about it. The next few chapters will probably be filler chapters, leading into chapter 26, which will be a big one.**

**Next chapter, you'll get to see Isabel teach her first class by herself. Remus returns. You'll find out why Isabel was ridiculed for 'sleeping around' in her Hogwarts years. And Remus decides to have a little chat with Isabel...at a ridiculous time of night. **


	21. Returning

**A/N: Hey guys! How are you all doing? I'm great, thanks for asking. I just want to thank you readers that keep coming back to read my story. I'd also like to thank new readers, for choosing to read this story. I'd appreciate for you all to read & review!**

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**For your reviews. You're contributions are greatly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

My dreams last night changed. Usually, they were about things that scared me, or my memories that had been changed. This time, I was walking through the dark forest. Well, at least I thought it was the dark forest. I walked slowly with my wand. It was pitch black. Lucius then walked out from behind a tree, his appearance immaculate as always. He just stood there, watching me with a smirk. Then, from behind another tree, came Remus. It was weird, because he was smirking too. And he looked like he had a lot more scars than usual. As I stood there, holding my wand out to face them both, Draco stepped out from behind another tree. He wasn't smirking. He looked frightened. Bill and Oliver Wood were also with Draco, looking frightened. I didn't know what to make of this dream. On one side, were the two older men that confused the hell out of me, and on the other, were three younger men that I knew cared for me. Wait...why was Draco there? So many questions I needed to answer.

* * *

I woke up and got ready for classes. Hopefully Remus had returned from his trip away. I inhaled deeply, trying to prepare myself for the day ahead. I didn't need anymore distractions. No Lucius problems. No Remus problems. No Draco problems. No Dad problems. All my distractions had to leave my head. There was a knock at the door, and in came Father, all ready for his classes today. Was it too soon to say no Dad problems?

"Good morning" he said, giving a slightly curt nod.

"Morning, Dad."

"I'm afraid that Lupin is not teaching today, once again. And I need to get back to teaching my potions classes, so today is your first day of full classes."

"Oh my god, seriously!" I smiled and practically jumped into my fathers arms. He hugged me slightly and let go.

"Are you already?"

"I was born ready." God, that sounded cheesy. Apparently, Father thought so too.

"Well then, I'll see you at breakfast, Professor Snape" Father said, smirking a little bit. He left my room, his black robes flowing behind him.

* * *

It was breakfast, and I walked up to the teachers table in the Great Hall. I sat next to Father, and Minerva, who had taken Lupin's spot at the table for the morning. She was smiling warmly at me. I liked being around Minerva. She made me feel like a woman, not a little girl.

"Congratulations, Isabel! I have just heard the news that today will be your first day of senior teaching!" Minerva exclaimed.

"Thank you. I'm a little nervous to be honest." More like excited as hell!

"There's nothing to be nervous about. If any of the students muck about, just tell them they'll be spending detention with me."

"Will do."

* * *

I walked into class and all the students were already seated. Lovely. I was like my father in a sense when I was teaching. I flicked my wand to close every window in the class, the only light being candle light.

"Good morning" I said, smiling, as I stood in front of the class. I had a first year class. They would be pretty confused as to what I was doing at the front, I'd say.

"Good morning, Professor Snape" they replied in unison. One girl raised her hand, smiling sweetly. I nodded, indicating for her to speak up.

"Excuse me, Professor. Where is Professor Lupin?" Wouldn't I like to know...

"It seems that Professor Lupin is incapable of teaching today. He'll be back soon." All the students went into a sort of frenzy of whispers, most of them having different theories to where the senior Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher had gone.

"That's enough whispering, lets get to work. Turn to page 133 of your books. Today, we'll be working on some basic spells." Some of the kids faces lit up. Poor first years, never get to really use a lot of magic.

"Now, can you repeat after me, Rictusempra. Without wands, please."

"Rictusempra" the class replied. I smiled and nodded.

"That spell is quite basic, yet it is a very different spell. It causes an extreme tickling sensation, one that's quite hard to resist. Now, another incantation...repeat after me without wands please, Everte Statum."

"Everte Statum"

"Good. That is basically for throwing someone backwards. Now, start reading page 133, and I want you to answer the questions I'm putting up on the board. We'll practice the spells with wands as soon as you all finish the questions." I took out my wand and pointed it at the board. I began writing, using my wand. The students seemed to find this pretty cool.

* * *

In the third class I was teaching that day, I was lucky enough to get Fred and George. They were grinning up at me the whole class, and at one point, they decided to test my patience. Fred put his hand up, beaming.

"Yes, Fred?" I asked, putting my hand on my hip and raising my eyebrows.

"Can you tell me the difference between Snape Senior and Snape Junior. You see, heaps of people are talking about Snape Senior and Snape Junior. I need to know the difference." I rolled my eyes, such a Fred and George thing to ask.

"Well, Fred, if you must know, the difference is I won't have you for detention if you ask questions, like my father would, I would pass you over to Professor McGonagall. Or worse, I'd write a letter to your mother, seeing as we're good friends." The whole class giggled. They hardly ever saw Fred or George get shut down. George applauded me for me effort and I smiled at him.

* * *

The end of the day came, thankfully. I was so stuffed. As soon as the last student left the classroom at the end of the day, I fell back into my chair. Now I knew why Father got grumpy at half his students. I had to question whether or not this was the right job for me. I guess it was. I sat there for a little bit, when I heard the door to the classroom shut. In walked a tired, overworked and scruffy looking Remus.

"Remus!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my chair and rushing over to him.

"Hello, Isabel" he said softly, hugging me gently. I pulled out of his hug and shrugged my shoulders.

"So, where have you been? I was worried." Remus' warm smile crept over his face at the words _I was worried. _He thought he had another shot at me. I quickly dashed those hopes with a raised eyebrow. He then knew that I wasn't joking. Remus turned away from me and walked to behind his desk. He then turned back to me and looked down.

"I-I-I-I, well, I was away for personal r-reasons." _'Pfft. That's crap and you know it, Isabel! Get it out if him'. _I wish my head would shut up sometimes. I decided against my head. If Remus didn't want to tell me (even though I was dying to know), he didn't have to tell me. Respecting people's wishes. That's the way to go about things. I then realised, after taking a closer look at Remus' face, that his face was covered in scars.

"Remus!" I gasped, "you're face!"

"I'm alright..." Remus said quietly. I rushed forward and held out my hand to his face.

"Isabel, don't" he whispered. My hand made contact with one of his scars. Where could these have come from? I mean, there were a few faint scars on his face a few days ago, but not as many as now.

"Who did this to you?" I asked. Remus stepped back out of my reach and turned away.

"No one. I'm fine."

"Remus, there are scars all over your face. I have to fix them..."

"No, Isabel! I'm fine!" Remus yelled. He turned to face me, and I lowered my head. All I was trying to do was help him. Sometimes when I'm with him, that's all I ever feel like. I only feel as if I'm trying to help him...

"Isabel" he sighed, walking towards me, attempting to pull me into a hug, "I'm sorry..." I stepped away from him, so he couldn't hug me.

"Please, I said I was sorry" he whispered, in a pleading voice. I closed my eyes and remembered the dream from last night. The smirking face of my friend Remus. It scared me.

"Talk to me, Isabel."

"I d-don't know why, but I feel scared right now, and uncomfortable. I can't be here right now." I began to walk out of the room.

"Don't you trust me?" Remus called out. I stopped and turned back to him. That was a very valid question. Did I trust him? I wasn't so sure if I did. He disappeared for days, coming back with a face full of scars, and he couldn't tell me what was going on. I looked directly into Remus' eyes for a few moments before turning away and leaving the room. I heard a heap of things crash onto the floor as I left, and Remus swearing his head off.

* * *

As I walked back to the Dungeons, I saw Oliver Wood staring at me from the corner of my eye. He was quite a good friend. He used to back me up and he would never believe the rumors that were spread about me. I had to admit to myself that he was a little cute. I'd also been told on a number of occasions that Wood and myself would make a great couple. That was a little annoying.

"Hey, Professor Snape!" Wood called out to me, rushing over to me.

"Wood, you don't have to call me Professor Snape. To you and my other friends still studying here, it's Isabel. And shouldn't you be in your dormitory?"

"I should be there, but I couldn't think, so I came out here. I was trying to devise a new game plan for Quidditch."

"I could give you a months detention...but I won't."

"Thanks, Isabel." Wood and I stood there for a few moments, in very awkward silence. Any silence for me was awkward, but it was especially awkward when it came to my father, Draco and Wood.

"Well, I should get going..." I told him, smiling and turning my back to him.

"Wait, Isabel" he said, taking hold of my arm.

"Yes?"

"I just thought you should know...I just think..." Wood pulled out a letter labeled _**'To Isabel'. **_

"Read it when you get back to your office."

"I will" I said, looking inquisitively at the letter. Wood half-smiled at me, stood up and walked away.I also walked back to my office. I really wanted to read this letter, as I had no idea what it contained. However, when I reached my office door...

* * *

"Isabel" a low, silky voice said to me. I looked up to see my father standing there, peering down at me.

"Good evening, Dad" I said.

"How was your first day of senior teaching?" he asked.

"A little stressful. I don't know why you teach, I thought you hated children."

"Well, I don't hate all children" he said, staring at me. I realised who he was talking about and smiled. I was happy with myself that I was so well behaved that my own Father didn't hate me.

"Did you enjoy your day?" He asked me.

"I guess so. It was interesting." Father gave a small grunt and nodded slightly.

"Remus is back" I said, changing the subject. Father raised his eyebrows, and his head.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, I saw him before."

"Did he say anything to you?"

"No, he didn't. I just guess he didn't want to. He said he was away for personal reasons." Father's facial expression didn't changed. Dad never gave anything away. He never liked people knowing about his personal life. And before I arrived at Hogwarts when I was 11, I was included in what he didn't want people to know about. Did that hurt? Kind of. It also hurt when my own mother would tell me that I had to lie to her husband, my step father. He thought I was his little princess. I can somehow see why he kicked me out.

"I'm tired" I said, "I'm going to bed. Night, Dad."

"Goodnight, Isabel." I stepped forward and hugged my father gently. I took in his scent. He smelt like burned candles. It was a little funny. I stepped back and retreated into my office. I sat at my black wooden desk and took out the letter that Wood had wrote me. I rested the letter on the desk and looked down at it, and started to read.

**'_Dear Isabel,_**

**_Today is your last day of Hogwarts. Yes, this is when I was writing this. I'm pretty sure your not reading it today. Anyway, I was intending to give this letter to you in the future, because I couldn't bare giving it to you now._**

**_I just needed you to know the reasons that people called you a skank and all those other nasty names. I told one of my good Gryffindor friends that I really liked you. And it was true. I did like you. Anyway, my friend went and told another friend, and then another, and then another and thats when it spiraled out of control. I also know for a fact that Terrence Higgs told one of his mates that he liked you at about the same time. I'm sorry. I guess it's kind of my fault._**

**_I really hope that you don't hate me. I didn't mean for you to get teased like that. It was so unfair._**

**_Wood.'_**

All this time, I didn't know who was calling me all those horrible names, and it started from Wood telling his friend that he liked me. I couldn't possibly say it was Oliver's fault. Still, he started it. And Terrence Higgs too. God, I feel like such an idiot. And me spending time with Wood and Percy would of put even more fuel into the fire. I'm pretty pissed at myself, now. I didn't do anything not to fuel those rumors. I just encouraged them. But so what if I had male friends? I have got to stop conflicting with myself...I won't get anywhere if I keep doing it. I stuffed the letter back in the envelope and chucked it in the top drawer of my desk. I was too tired to be dealing with this right now.

* * *

I think it was around after midnight when I was woken by someone. I thought it was an emergency and panicked for a moment, pulling my bed covers off of me, but with a flicker of candle light, I saw a scruffy looking Remus, looking down at my body. I quickly pulled up the sheets of my bed, as my pajamas weren't exactly covering me up. Crap, that's embarrassing. Remus shook his head, trying to snap himself out of a trance.

"S-sorry, Isabel. I know it's late." Remus' eyes finally left my body and met my face.

"It's extremely late, Remus! What's the meaning of this surprise visit?"

"Maybe you should get up." I rolled my eyes, and he was half smiling. I had to leave my bed, but I didn't want him to see me...like this. I quickly grabbed my black robes.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd turn around" I told him sternly. He nodded as a look of disappointment crept over his face. He turned his back to me slowly. I stood up swiftly and started to put on my robes. I caught Remus looking over his shoulder at me and rolled my eyes. He couldn't help himself, could he?

"Remus!"

"Sorry, sorry" he said, turning his head back around. I finished putting on my robes and walked to the table and two chairs in the middle of the room. Remus sat in one chair, I sat in the other. I flicked my wand so that the tea sitting on the table would heat up. One of the many spells Andromeda had told me...

"Now, can you tell me why you have come to me in the middle of the night, wanting to talk to me?"

"Oh, yes. Did I say I'm sorry by the way..." It annoyed me how Remus always wanted to dodge the uneasy subjects.

"Out with it, Lupin" I said harshly, losing my patience by the second. We had classes to freaking teach tomorrow! I didn't want to turn up and then fall asleep in front of all the students. How embarrassing for my reputation as a teacher...

"Right. Well. I have this problem..."

"What problem?" I asked. This recurring problem he never wants to tell me about is pissing me off. More so today then other days.

"I can't tell you. It's private."

"Then why did you come to me?"

"Just listen, Isabel. Please. I came to you because this problem was affecting every aspect of my life. It's affecting everything. And I came here because I couldn't sleep."

"Right then. Is that the only reason you couldn't sleep?" I asked. Remus glanced at me and then turned his attention towards my floor quite quickly. That would be a no then...

"Honestly, no, it's not the only problem. There's another reason I can't get to sleep."

"Well then, by all means, enlighten me."

"My other problem is you." _'I knew this would come back to be a pain in our ass.' _My head was right. After I told Lupin I wasn't interested, I always knew that he'd bring it up at some point, like he didn't believe what I was saying.

"Isabel...there comes a point where you have to figure out where you stand in the world, and where you stand with someone. When it comes to you...I have no idea where I stand. I know you want friendship and only friendship, but I can't help but think that we could be. Well, we could be more then friends."

"Remus, I thought I said - "

"I know what you said. And I know what I said. I cannot offer you anything. I am much too old for you. You're a beautiful young woman, and I am an old man."

"You're only...you're not old" I giggled. He kept a hard look on his face. I clearly wasn't helping.

"But, I still have strong feelings for you." '_So, let me get this straight. Wood has or had feelings for you. Bill had feelings for you. Remus has feelings for you. And I reckon Lucius has some sort of attraction to you. This is getting a little out of hand, don't you think? You've gotta start listening to me more then your heart.' _Alright, brain, I get it.

"Remus, no, I thought we've been through this."

"So did I. But I needed to explain myself further." He sighed and stood up. I also stood up. I hope he's leaving. Seriously, I need my rest. Remus walked over to me and stood over me. He leaned down and kissed me gently on my cheek. He started to leave my office, and my hand crept up to the place where he kissed me on the cheek. He was very sweet.

"By the way, I think your pajamas make you look even more attractive then usual." Remus gave me a goofy looking smile and left my office. Shit, why did this have to be so confusing. _'Isabel, listen to me...we made a decision on him. You don't love him. You don't want him in that way. You're good friends. That's it'. _My head was right. I made a decision. Remus isn't the one. He never will be. And the thing that made it even harder was that he wasn't willing to accept that fact. Hopefully one day he will. I took off my black robes, put my wand on my bedside table and crawled into bed. I fell right into a deep sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, that chapter wasn't exactly exciting, I know. Sorry. I feel bad for writing nothing exciting.**

**Next chapter, we'll see a letter from Fleur and we'll also see some more stupid Pansy Parkinson!**


	22. Bonsoir

**A/N: Hey guys and girls. Welcome back to old readers, and welcome to new readers. New readers, I hope you've read from chapter one! **

**I have to apologise for this chapter. I just read over it. It's more of a filler chapter (once again). Although, there is a nice Father/Daughter moment, and more of stupid Pansy Parkinson. Trust me, there will be bigger and better things heading your way VERY soon.**

**Did anyone else see the new trailer for Deathly Hallows Part 2? I died when I saw it! I can't wait. There seems to be plenty of Severus which I'm happy about!**

**Thanks to: TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, ThoughtVortex & RainingTearsandPixieDust for their reviews last chapter. I appreciate it!**

**Disclaimer: I hope you have come to the realisation that I am not J.K Rowling, therefore I do not own Harry Potter. I claim rights to Isabel Snape though!**

* * *

I woke up, trying to remember if last night was a dream. I couldn't possibly have been woken by Remus at that time of night. But of course, it wasn't a dream. It was real. It was something else I really didn't have to deal with at the moment. How could someone like me, someone who just finished her education, have so many problems?

* * *

I walked into the Great Hall that morning. Fred, George, Percy, Wood, Harry, Hermione and Ron were all sitting at the Gryffindor table, waving at me. I smiled and waved back at them. It was nice to know that I still had friends like that. Friends I could count on. I kept walking towards the front of the Hall when I looked over at the Slytherin table. Crabbe and Goyle were both sending me death stares while Pansy was fussing over Draco. I rolled my eyes. Pansy was probably the most stupid person I had ever met. She just peeved me off. And the way Draco took it in disgusted me even more. He was smart. Too smart for someone like Pansy. I walked to the teachers table and sat in my usual spot between Remus and Father, who were both already sitting there, looking at me strangely.

"You look like a train wreck" Father whispered into my ear. I looked down at my black dress and blazer. They seemed to look alright...

"Did you even sleep last night?" Father whispered.

"Yes, I did. Not very well." I had to fight an urge to shoot a look at Remus, but I knew if I did my father would suspect something and end up hexing Remus into next year.

"Why was - " Father started. I looked down and shook my head.

"Please, can we not? I'm really not in the mood for question and answer time. Father pursed his lips and then nodded once. I breathed a sigh of relief. I couldn't handle any questions this morning. I would end up blurting something out then regretting it for the rest of my life. I looked down at my breakfast. Toast and eggs. The usual. Great.

"Aren't you hungry?" Remus whispered in my ear. I turned to him and glared at him.

"No. I'm not" I spat. I wanted to go on with my day and help teach classes, but thanks to Remus' smart thinking last night, I couldn't do that. All I could think about was sleeping. I wanted to go back to my bed.

"I'm sorry about last night" Remus said softly, so my father couldn't hear.

"You should be. Who in the hell wakes up a person at 1AM in the morning to tell them something like that? Was it so urgent that you couldn't wait until morning?"

"I am sorry, Isabel. Truly." I nodded, acknowledging Remus' apology. I started to eat my breakfast. I needed it. I practically shoveled it into my mouth, and this was just to stay awake. I seemed to have caught the attention of Dumbledore and McGonagall, who were looking at me as if I were some stranger. Minerva gave me a firm stare, and I stopped shoveling food into my mouth. I took one sip of my pumpkin juice and stood up. I couldn't be here at the moment. I needed to wake up. I walked out of the Great Hall and began to walk down a long corridor, when I was stopped by someone who grabbed my blazer. I turned around to see Minerva holding the bottom of my blazer.

"Isabel, what's wrong?" She asked, her tone full of concern for me.

"I'm tired" I answered plainly, yawning a little.

"Why are you tired?"

"Because someone woke me up at a very late time last night!" I snapped. Minerva looked at me with astonishment. I was being rude but at the same time I didn't even realise I was being rude.

"I'm sorry, Minerva. It's just that I'm really grumpy today."

"I can see that" she said.

"I've talked with the Headmaster, and he agrees with me that maybe you should take today off."

"No, no. I'm fine" I lied. Minvera raised her eyebrows at me. I was never a convincing liar...

"Take the day off, dear." Minerva patted my hand and half smiled before walking off. Minerva was right. I needed the day off. I quickly walked back to the dungeons and into my office. There were two letters sitting on my desk. I opened the first one and smiled. Fleur had sent me another letter.

_**Dear Isabel,**_

_**There is no need to apologise for me.**_

_**I understand that you are busy and you cannot write to me all the time.**_

_**Beauxbatons is good. **_

_**Everything is gradually getting harder,**_

_**But it's nothing I cannot handle.**_

_**I am actually quite a good student in all subjects.**_

_**I guess that's something we have in common.**_

_**It's good that you're starting to enjoy your teaching?**_

_**How is teaching all your friends?**_

_**I bet it's a little funny.**_

_**I would love to see you as a teacher?**_

_**Do you give out harsh punishments?**_

_**Nothing much else is happening.**_

_**Mother and Father are fighting a lot. **_

_**Sometimes about you.**_

_**Mother wishes you could come visit, but Father never allows it.**_

_**It breaks her heart.**_

_**Missing you,**_

_**Fleur**_

_**X**_

I teared up slightly when Fleur wrote that Mother and my step-father had been fighting over me. Mother deserves better then that idiot, Delacour. He was good to her when I was little, but Fleur had told me numerous times that he had been treating her worse and worse. It wasn't fair on Fleur and Gabrielle. I picked up the other letter and sighed. When would this man freaking leave me alone and go away? Oh, that's right, when he's finished with the game he's playing with me. I opened the letter slowly and began to read it.

**Miss Snape,**

**I do hope you enjoyed yourself the other night, and I hope you like the necklace that I bought for you. **

**You are welcome at the Malfoy Manor any time, and feel free to let me know if you'd like to come over for dinner again. **

**Hope to see you soon.**

**Lucius Malfoy**

I rolled my eyes.

"In your dreams, Lucius" I muttered. I took out my quill, ink and writing paper.

_**Dear Fleur,**_

_**I am so very happy that you are excelling in school. **_

_**Who knows, you might even be better than me!**_

_**Teaching is fine.**_

_**It's a little weird teaching my friends, but fun at the same time.**_

_**I give out punishments. **_

_**I don't think you'd call them harsh.**_

_**But I did make three students scrape gum of desks!**_

_**Stay strong.**_

_**You need to be strong. **_

_**For mother, for Gabrielle and for you.**_

_**Don't listen to your Father if he is pushing ideas into your head.**_

_**I miss you.**_

_**Love always,**_

_**Isabel**_

_**X**_

In that instant, I thought of something. What would my life be like now if I had stayed in France. If my step-father didn't find out about my father and mother. I would be with Fleur everyday. I would of attended Beauxbatons...my life would be completely different. But I wouldn't know my father. Or Tonks, Charlie, Bill, Remus, Minerva, Harry, Draco, Ron, Fred, George, Percy, Hermione, Andromeda, Molly, Minerva. So many wonderful people that I wouldn't know. It's actually a sad thought. As I snapped back to real life, I decided that I wouldn't write to Lucius. Not today.

I stood up from my desk and strolled over to behind my black and purple curtain, to where my bed was. I fell onto my bed. It felt nice to have a day off. I didn't know how the real teachers did it. Scary thought to know that I would have to do that soon. I closed my eyes and I was asleep in no time.

* * *

"Isabel. Isabel. ISABEL!" Someone yelled at me. I woke up and yawned. I saw my father sitting right in front of me, his face full of worry.

"Hi, Dad" I said, still half asleep. Father sighed and shook his head.

"Do you know how worried I was?"

"Why would you be worried?" I asked.

"I had no idea where you were! And I went to ask Lupin and he had no idea, either."

"Try asking Minerva or Dumbledore next time" I said. Father rolled his eyes at my rudeness. I didn't mean to be grumpy, it's just that he woke me up from the best sleep I've had in a while. It was uninterrupted (apart from Father waking me up) and I didn't have any nightmares.

"What's the time?"

"Nearly dinner time."

"Great, I'll come to dinner with you." I attempted to put on a happy face, so that I could hide all my emotions from my father, but the problem was he could read me like a book. Father was good like that. He never gave any of his emotions away, but he could tell what someone else was feeling. My face turned to a frown. He already figured me out.

"Isabel, you look...distressed..."

"Do I? Do I really?" I asked, sarcastically. I sat down in one of the chairs near me, and Father sat on the arm of the chair. His dark eyes looked right into mine.

"You are unhappy" he said plainly. I sighed. I was unhappy. With everything.

"Why are you unhappy?" he asked.

"I'm just confused. About everything."

"About teaching?"

"Everything but teaching. I'm sure that I'll become good at it. I enjoy it. But everything else is driving me mad. Draco hates me. People whisper things about me constantly. Lucius is scaring the life out of me and..." _'You can't possibly tell him about Remus!" _My head screamed at me.

"Yes?" Father asked, waiting for the end of my sentence.

"And I just keep having all these troubles. The world hates me. Everyone hates me." Father looked at me apologetically and put one arm around me. This was the side to Severus Snape that no one knew except me. I felt privileged to know this side of him. This side was soft, caring and protective. Protective of me. I rested my head on my father's arm. We didn't say anything. We just sat there. My father, his arm tight around me, and my head resting on his arm. I felt safe. I felt loved. I felt like someone cared about me.

After a little bit, Father took his arm away from me. I didn't want him to. I just wanted to sit there until I fell back asleep. It was one of those moments I wished I could of had as a little girl. Sure, my step-father hugged me all the time, but it was fake. It wasn't real. It wasn't a father type hug. It didn't feel the same as it did when my father hugged me. It was different. It was warm. It was caring. It was everything a moment between a father and a daughter should be.

"We should be going to the Great Hall" Father said. I stood up slowly and nodded with the tiniest bit of energy.

"I guess so" I sighed. Father left my office, and I followed. I took out my wand and flicked it so the door would shut and also lock. I didn't want any unwanted visitors in my office while I was at dinner.

* * *

Father and I walked into the Great Hall, and it seemed we were there before most of the students. I took my usual spot in between Father and Remus. I looked over at Minerva and she smiled. I sat right back in my chair and closed my eyes briefly. I just wanted dinner to be over.

"How are you feeling?" Remus asked me.

"Huh?"

"I said, how are you feeling? Minerva said you didn't feel too good."

"Oh, I'm just really tired."

"I get how you feel." Yeah, sure you do Remus. You have a follower of You-Know-Who wanting to know your every move and wanting to have dinner with you all the time. And to make it even better, the guy is the father of one of your good, excuse me, one of your old good friends. Not good friends anymore. Ever since he told me I couldn't talk to blood traitors...

"Are you alright, Isabel?" Remus asked. I turned to Remus and ran my hand through my straight, jet black hair.

"If I had a galleon for every time someone asked me that, I would be a millionaire" I told him. Remus let out a small laugh. I didn't think it was that funny, but I was happy to have gotten a laugh anyway. At least I wasn't so depressing that people couldn't laugh around me.

* * *

Dinner was served and it seemed that I was scoffing down my food, yet again. I felt like such a pig. I didn't think it was really necessary to be shoveling food down my own throat, but I didn't realise I was actually doing it. It kept me guessing as to why I was actually doing it. I think it's because I'm so nervous about how things will play out with Lucius. Why is he on my mind? And why is he on my mind so often? It's not supposed to be Lucius, Lucius, Lucius. God, I feel like a creep. I was the first person on the teachers tables to finish eating. That was a little embarrassing. I would of thought someone like Hagrid would of beaten me to it. But no, I finished before him. How freaking embarrassing.

I started walking away from the Great Hall after dinner finished, but one student managed to catch up to me. Wood. Great, another long conversation. I just wanted to get back to my office and read or sleep or something.

"Hey Isabel" Wood said.

"Hi, Wood" I said, my voice full of boredom.

"Did you read my letter?" What letter? I don't remember any letter...wait, yes I do.

"Yes, I did actually."

"So we're all cool?" Well, seeing as you didn't mean to make up that rumor. Sometimes, Wood was really thick. I always regarded him as smart in the academic part of things, but when it came to social skills, he could be really stupid.

"Yes, Wood. We're cool" I said, nodding.

"I'm sorry, you know. Those rumors started from me."

"Don't be silly, they didn't. They started because of a few immature little girls who need to grow up. They probably heard something and then changed everything, and then passed it on. Don't blame yourself." Wood half smiled and nodded.

"Alright. Well, I best be off."

"Sure. Okay. I'll see you later, Wood."

"See you later, Isabel." I smiled one last time at Wood and walked off. It seemed as if he expected me to be pissed off. As I said earlier, Wood was thick when it came to stuff like that.

I walked slowly down the stairs to the dungeons and into my office. Thank goodness I didn't have to do any rounds of the halls tonight. I quickly got changed into my pajamas, and these ones actually covered me up. I didn't want a repeat of last night.I flew back onto my bed and closed my eyes. I felt comfortable. I fell right asleep.

* * *

The rest of the week went on without many bumps in the road. There were classes that I enjoyed, like the classes that I had with first years, where I got to do a lot of teaching. But of course, there were the classes that I didn't enjoy teaching. Most notably Pansy Parkinson's class. I mean, on the lighter side, Harry, Hermione & Ron were all in that class. But I had to endure the countless dumb comments from Pansy.

_Flashback_

"_Now can anyone remember the correct incantation for the spell in which we cast a very bright light?" I asked. A few people raised their hands, including Hermione, who I was going to ask, but Pansy decided to have a crack at it without me even choosing her._

"_Professor Snape...I think it's got an L and a B in it" she said, smiling to herself. I decided to play along with it._

"_And why do you think that, Miss Parkinson?" I asked, my voice as harsh as my father's when he lost patience._

"_Because the L stands for light and the B stands for beam. Actually, I think thats it, but the other way around. Beam Light!" I turned to Remus who had his head in his hands, and was trying to refrain from bursting into laughter. I shook my head in astonishment. The whole class broke out into fits of laughter, except Crabbe and Goyle, who were backing Pansy up. Draco, however, had his head on the table and was trying not to laugh, just as Remus was. _

"_Miss Parkinson, I'm afraid you're way off. Miss Granger, enlighten us, please."_

"_The basic incantation if Lumos, but if you wanted it on a larger scale, the correct incantation is Lumos Maxima."_

"_Thank you, Miss Granger. I'm glad that someone has the basic common sense to know that the correct incantation is not Beam Light. And Miss Parkinson, I won't even applaud you for your effort. I'm sorry, but it was truly awful." Once again, the class (except Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle), all laughed. _

_End of Flashback_

The week also got a little better for me emotionally. I didn't feel frightened or intimidated at all, but that was probably because I wasn't thinking of Lucius as much as I have been. Draco didn't look at me all week. That hurt a little bit, because I thought we were such good friends. I seemed to have been mistaken...

* * *

It was after on Friday night, and I was sitting in my office, reading a book. I had to calm down. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I had too many confusing things going on in my life at the moment. I had to pause and put myself back together. I was a mess. A huge mess. There was a knock at the door and Remus appeared in my office.

"Hello Isabel" he said quietly. I nodded towards the chair opposite me, indicating for him to sit down.

"Remus" I said, not looking up from my book. I was being rude. And unfair.

"How...how are you?" he asked. I marked the page of my book that I was on and rested it on the table in front of me. I placed my hands in my lap and looked up at Remus.

"I'm fine" I lied.

"How many times must you say your fine? You don't expect me to be that stupid and believe you. I know things have been hard for you - "

"Oh, really, Remus? You think things have been hard for me do you? It's more then hard, Remus. I have Lucius Malfoy wanting to know my every move. His son used to be one of my best friends, now he's telling me to stop speaking to blood traitors. I've just found out the reason people made up rumors about me during my years as a student here and to top it all off I have to teach that idiot Pansy Parkinson the difference between a normal dog and a werewolf."

"Werewolf?" Remus asked with a slightly nervous tone.

"Oh, yes, while you were away Father started to teach the students about werewolves. It seemed Miss Parkinson failed to understand what werewolves were. She asked if she could have one for a domestic pet." Remus let out what sounded like a fake laugh. I didn't want to ask Remus what was going on. I wasn't up for confrontations.

"I'm sorry" Remus said softly, "everything is my fault. I bet if I didn't kiss you that night...you wouldn't be so reserved."

"Don't be stupid, Remus. Just promise me one thing. Never, ever wake me up at that time of night again. Unless there's an emergency."

"Right" Remus said, "noted." We sat there in silence for a while. Remus seemed a little cold. I couldn't blame him. It did feel cold in my room, even with the fire going.

"Oh, and Dumbledore wanted me to tell you that you have to patrol the corridors for most of the holidays, and for the start of term."

"Great" I groaned, "who else is?"

"Flitwick, your father and myself" Remus replied, smiling warmly.

"Thank god there's no classes tomorrow" I said to Remus, who nodded in agreement. Remus stood up and began to leave my office.

"Where are you going?" I asked, standing up.

"I have things to attend to" he said.

"You didn't even say goodbye." I frowned. He just wanted to take off without a word! How could he?

"I'm sorry, Isabel" he said, walking over to me. He gave me a small hug and smiled.

"Bonsoir, Belle" he whispered into my ear before leaving my office. I didn't know that Remus could speak a little French! Gee, he's full of surprises. Whether I liked it or not, I could tell that Remus felt a lot for me. I now felt a little guilty for not feeling anything back.

* * *

**A/N: Not an exciting chapter, I know. Reviews are like gold, they're worth a lot! And at the end, its funny, because Belle is actually beautiful in French.**

**Next chapter...Christmas time! And Isabel, Remus, Severus & Harry have a little run in at a very inconvenient time.**


	23. Merry

**A/N: Hi guys! How are you all? Welcome to Chapter 23 of this story. Trust me, ladies & gents, there are many more chapters to come. And when I mean many...I mean MANY! I am sorry at the time I am uploading this - time zones are very hard to please!**

**Thank you to:**

**LaFlorine**

**WritersOfTheGods**

**LadyFateContemplatingDisaster (Would like to add, that is a very cool name change)**

**TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle**

**For your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Harry Potter. Which sucks for me...**

* * *

The next morning I felt re-energized and ready to go. But I would of preferred to teach today instead of going to bloody Hogsmeade with a bunch of students that are only going to stock up on candy from Honeydukes. Oh well, Minerva and I would have to put up with it together. I got up and put my normal clothes on, but I also added a dark green scarf, and a black beret. It was kinda cold outside, and I didn't want to catch any sicknesses. My hand trailed down to my neck, where my Thestral necklace sat. It gave me piece of mind to know that my father was with me everywhere I went. I felt safe with it on.

I walked into the courtyard where most students were. I saw Ron and Hermione and made my way over to them. It seemed they were missing one. I rarely saw Ron or Hermione without Harry. It was strange, actually.

"Hi guys" I said.

"Good morning, Professor Snape" Hermione said politely. Hermione and I had never been particularly close. I mean, we talked to each other now and again, but we weren't close.

"Hermione, please, the only place you need to call me that is the classroom. We've known each other since your first year at Hogwarts. I don't think it's necessary for you to call me Professor Snape." Hermione smiled to herself and her cheeks turned a rosy colour. Poor girl, I had embarrassed her.

"She knows. She just doesn't want you to tell her off if she doesn't" Ron laughed. I laughed a little and smiled at Hermione, showing her it was alright.

"Where's Harry?" I asked.

"Oh, he didn't get his permission slip signed, so he wasn't allowed to come. He hasn't been on any of the Hogsmeade trips" Hermione told me.

"Yeah, he's been spending all his time with Professor Lupin while we've been gone" Ron said.

"Right" I said, nodding my head. Minerva appeared in the courtyard and waved at me, telling me to go over to her.

"Well, you guys have a great day. If you need help just ask, yeah?" I smiled at Ron and Hermione one last time before walking over to Minerva, who also had Filch beside her. I always despised Filch. He was like the creepy next door neighbour you never wanted to have.

"Good morning, Isabel" Minerva said, smiling. She had that smile on her face...the one when she wanted to know what was going on.

"What?" I said, my lips curling up.

"We'll discuss it later," Minerva whispered to me, turning to the students, "I want you on your best behaviour. If not, you'll be spending a months detention with Professor Snape...either of them...or me!" Gee, even I was scared of that. Detention with Minerva, or so I have heard, is quite scary. Apparently detention with my father is even scarier. And word's gotten around that my detentions are some of the hardest the students had seen.

* * *

The students started to make the way out of Hogwarts, led by Filch. Minerva and I walked at the back, a few meters back from the students, so they couldn't hear our conversation.

"Any update with the situation on you and Remus?" Minerva asked. I was surprised. Minerva didn't strike me as the type of person who liked to hear gossip. But then again, I don't think it is gossip.

"He confused me, Minerva" I said.

"In what way?"

"He whispered to me in french last night and I don't know why. He's making everything too hard."

"What did he say?"

"He called me beautiful...again" I said, "I'm kind of getting bored of people calling me attractive." Minerva laughed and shook her head.

"My dear, that will turn out to be a gift" she said.

"I highly doubt that" I muttered to myself.

"You're feelings for Remus haven't changed at all?" Minerva asked. I shook my head and looked down.

"What's wrong, Isabel?"

"What if I'm hurting him?"

"Remus is not a little boy. He'll get past it. You see, Isabel, you're much too selfless. You think of others needs more than your own."

"That's a good quality isn't it?" I asked.

"Of course it's a good quality. But then again, sometimes you need to be selfish. Sometimes you need to take time out for yourself and think 'is this really what I want'?" Minerva said. She made so much sense. She was so wise.

"Why aren't you married?" I asked. I was curious. Most of the Hogwarts teachers were unmarried. Minerva smiled and there was a little twinkle in her eyes.

"Because I found something that I loved more then any man. I was never interested in getting married. There was only one thing."

"What was it?" I enquired.

"Teaching." As insane as that sounded, it was incredibly sweet. She cared so much for the students. It was heart warming. We arrived in Hogsmeade and I saw the students run to Honeydukes. I rolled my eyes. I didn't get the attraction that kids and teenagers had towards confectionary. I never did. I never ate that kind of stuff when I was a kid. Mother said it would make Fleur and I fat. And when I moved to my father's house, Father never bought it.

* * *

I never enjoyed Hogsmeade trips as a student here. I don't know why. I just didn't. I would prefer to be in the library or common room reading a good book. I felt like a bit of a weirdo, admitting to that, but it was the truth. I think being smart meant more to me then being popular. Not that I wasn't popular as a student. Everyone knew who I was. Who wouldn't know the daughter of the most hated teacher in the school? It was lucky I had good friends like Tonks, Bill, Charlie, Percy and Wood around.

Minerva walked up to the bench I was sitting on and sat next to me.

"Very cold, today, isn't it? Well, it's nearly Christmas, so I'd assume it would be cold." She said. Oh my gosh, it's nearly Christmas! I'd have to buy something for Father. And Minerva. And Remus. And I would need to get something for the Weasley family, and the Tonks family. Oh, and I'd need to get Harry something too. And Wood! Draco can go without this year after he said all that crap to me.

"Minerva, what should I get for Father this year? For Christmas, I mean?"

"That's a very hard question. Maybe something that means something to you. And that will mean something to him." I thought back to the photo we took about two weeks ago. Minerva wanted a photo of us two for some reason. Father, once again, was not smiling. But he looked happy. Like he was content with life at the moment. And I was smiling, of course.

"Minerva, you know that photo that you took two weeks ago? Of Father and I? Do you have a copy?"

"Yes, dear, I have." Great. I knew exactly what to give Father for Christmas.

"Now, excuse me Minerva, I have to go buy a few things."

"Of course, dear."

* * *

A few weeks passed. I didn't have that much trouble with anything, which was good. Classes had been going well. Remus and I hadn't talked about anything to do with his...attraction. We'd just focused on teaching the students. And our friendship was going well. I couldn't say the same, though, for my friendship with Draco. It was all cut up, and all that was left was to throw it into the fire. I was disappointed. I thought Draco was smart enough. Smart enough to know that having real friends was important. I guess I was wrong. I woke up slowly and put my usual black dress and blazer on. It was Christmas! I had to go deliver presents. I loved Christmas. It was a happy time. I never had any worries during Christmas time. I picked up the big bag of presents and took it with me.

I knocked on the door of my father's office. It opened slowly and I walked in to see my father reading a book, a few boxes wrapped in colourful wrapping paper sitting next to him.

"Merry Christmas" I said. He stood up and I walked over to him and gave him a small hug. I stepped back and sat in the chair opposite my father's.

"Merry Christmas" he said.

"You're up early."

"I thought that you would be here early, so I got up early this morning" Father replied. I reached into my big black bag and handed my father a present, wrapped in green wrapping paper. He opened it slowly and held the gift in his hands. He looked down at the photo frame, with the picture taken by Minerva weeks ago sitting in the frame. I placed it on the empty mantlepiece. I smiled. That was the first photo I had ever seen him display. It was nice to know.

"Thank you" Father said. He took a big black box with a red ribbon wrapped around it and passed it to me. I slowly took the red ribbon off the box, and then opened the box. The box contained something black, and soft. I took the soft object out of the box and realised what it was. It was a dress. A very expensive looking dress. It was black, of course. It had no straps, and no sleeves. It had a beautiful neckline...sweetheart neckline I think the muggles call it. And it fell to the floor. It was incredible.

"How did you - ?" I gasped.

"Do not worry about how much it cost. I hope you like it..."

"I love it. Thank you" I said softly. I felt a little guilty now, seeing as my present seemed a little crappy compared to the one he got me. I should of got him something expensive or something.

"I have to go...I have presents to deliver" I told Father.

"Of course" he replied, giving me one nod.

"Merry Christmas" I said in a near whisper, half smiling. I picked up my big bag of presents and left the dungeons.

* * *

I walked swiftly into Minerva's office, who looked as if she was just getting ready to go somewhere. As soon as she noticed that I had entered the room, she practically ran up to me and put her arms around me.

"Merry Christmas, dear!" I gave Minerva a small hug back. It was nice to have another mother figure in my life. After my mother let my step-father kick me out, we haven't really spoken. I found a sort of mothering figure a few months ago in Andromeda, but of course, she wasn't around a lot of the time. I reached into my bag of presents and took out a small red box.

"Thank you, but you really didn't have to get me anything" Minerva said at the sight of the box. She seized the box from my hands and opened it slowly to reveal a small silver broach with a sparkling gold gemstone in the middle of it.

"My, it is beautiful!" Minerva cried, "thank you." She held up her finger, as if to tell me to wait a moment, and she ran behind a curtain. She then came back with a small blue case. She handed it to me, and I opened it to see a pair of earrings. They looked as if they were pearl earrings.

"I didn't have much money..."

"Minerva, they're lovely. Thank you." Minerva and I exchanged thank you's and hugs before I left to meet someone else, once more.

* * *

I made my way to the office of the one person I was scared to give a present to. Remus. I opened the door slowly to see Remus pacing around his office.

"Merry Christmas" I said softly. He looked up and smiled that extremely warm smile of his.

"Merry Christmas, Isabel." I handed him a big brown box.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Your Christmas present."

"Why did you get me a Christmas present?" He asked.

"Because you're my friend."

"But I've given you nothing but grief."

"Don't be silly, Remus. Just open it." Remus placed the box on the table and opened it. He shook his head as he took in the new suit and black robes that I had bought him.

"I was thinking your old ones were looking a little...worn" I told him.

"I cannot accept this. You cannot waste your money on me."

"You can accept it, and it's not a waste. You needed them." Remus turned to me and shook his head.

"Why are you so..." he started.

"Annoying?"

"No, I was kind of thinking more like, why are you so kind?"

"You're welcome, Remus." I smiled and picked up my bag of presents.

"Wait!" He said.

"Yes?" I said, turning around towards him.

"I...I didn't get you anything."

"So?"

"You bought me this, how can I not give you anything in return."

"Don't be silly, Remus. Merry Christmas." I walked out of Remus' office quickly with my bag of presents and began to make my way to the Gryffindor Common Room, where I told Wood, Percy, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny and Harry to meet me out the front.

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" Wood, Percy, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny and Harry all shouted when they saw me.

"Merry Christmas" I said as I walked up to them with my bag of presents.

"Now" I said to myself. I reached into my bag and took out one smaller bag and two boxes. I handed a green box to Wood, a yellow box to Harry and the bag to Percy. Wood opened the green box to see a black scarf. Harry also opened the box to see a black scarf, but he also got a packet of Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Bean. Percy opened the bag to see a heap of scarves and six packets of Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Bean.

"Thanks heaps, Isabel" Ron said.

"Yeah, mum will appreciate the scarves. Mean she won't have to knit any for a while. Next year, could you get us some good looking jackets or something, so she doesn't have to knit any of those jumpers with the initial on the front of them?" Fred told me. Percy hit Fred over the head and I just laughed. Harry smiled at me, and so did Wood, showing me their appreciation for their presents. Ginny handed me something soft wrapped in purple wrapping paper.

"It's from Mum...and all of us" she said.

"Thank you" I replied. I opened it to see one of Molly Weasley's famous scarves. Scarves seemed to be the trend this Christmas.

"Tell her thank you" I told the Ginny, Fred, George, Ron and Percy. Wood and Harry stood there, and I knew that they didn't buy me anything. It didn't bother me, though. I knew that Harry couldn't buy me anything. And I was just happy that Wood and I were on good terms.

* * *

I had only one more present to give, and I hope the person it belonged to came to see me soon. Now I could go and relax. Thank goodness. I was getting incredibly tired. I walked back to the dungeons and back into my office. I saw Dobby standing on my table, and then he jumped down, a big smile on his face.

"Merry Christmas, Miss Isabel!" Dobby shouted.

"Merry Christmas, Dobby" I said, smiling. I reached into my bag of presents and took out a pair of socks and a wooly hat. I handed them to Dobby and he beamed at me.

"Thank you, Miss Isabel!" It looked as if Dobby were about to cry.

"Dobby brought these two packages down for Isabel" Dobby said, indicating two packages. One was wrapped in purple paper with a pink ribbon, the other was wrapped in green paper with a silver ribbon. I took the one wrapped in purple and read the card sitting on the top.

**_To our dearest Isabel,_**

**_Merry Christmas. We are missing you greatly. We hope that you are doing well as a teacher. We got the photos you sent us. You have grown up so much in the years we have not seen you. You are a beautiful young woman. We hope to see you soon, as we are missing you very much. Enjoy the gifts that we bought for you. You deserve them._**

**_Love always,_**

**_Mother, Fleur & Gabrielle_**

**_Xx_**

I smiled at the letter that my mother had written. I was glad to know she was missing me. I unwrapped the package to see a black wooden box that had _'Isabel Victorie' _carved into it. I opened the box to see a heap of necklaces, bracelets and earrings. There was also a dark blue dress in the package. Mother's taste in dresses was impeccable.

"Dobby thinks the dress is very pretty" Dobby said.

"I think it is too." I set down the dress and the box and picked up the other package. I took the card out from under the ribbon. I knew exactly who this was from.

**_Dear Isabel,_**

**_Merry Christmas to you. I hope you enjoy this gift that I have bought for you. Narcissa has seen it and she agrees that it will look remarkable on you._**

**_From,_**

**_Lucius_**

**_(and Narcissa & Draco)_**

I opened the package slowly and gasped. It was a long black coat. The upper body was tight fitting and the small silver detailing on the upper body and neckline was incredibly intricate. The bottom of the coat was very flowing. It was amazing.

"I can't wear this" I said.

"Why not?" Dobby asked.

"Just knowing who it's from gives me the chills, Dobby."

"Dobby understands" Dobby said, nodding his head. The coat was remarkable. It was hard to even look at it, though.

* * *

The end of the day couldn't come quick enough. I was too tired. Dinner was interesting. There were always the normal _'what did you get for Christmas?' _questions. A little annoying, really. It was the same answers every year. It was always either _'oh, nothing much...' _or it was the person who liked to brag about the presents they had received. Me? I was the _'oh, nothing' _type of person.

It was quite late at night. Father and I were sitting in my office, drinking wine. He seemed to like wine. I had to keep an eye on how much he drank. I didn't want him to get drunk. I wouldn't know how to deal with him.

"Did you like your gift?" Father asked, pointing out the expensive dress he bought for me. I nodded and half smiled.

"Yes, I did. But I wouldn't know where or when to wear it."

"A time will come" Father told me, taking a sip of the dark red wine. We sat there for just a little bit...taking each other in. Father hadn't really changed a bit from the first time I had met him. He still had the black greasy hair...the hook nose. What he looked like didn't bother me. I was the only person to know a caring side of Severus Snape. That's what mattered to me.

"You have grown so much" Father said quietly. We were more alike then I first thought. We sometimes thought the same things at the same time. It was amazing.

"I didn't think I had changed that much. I still have long, black hair. My eyes are still dark. My skin is still..."

"No," Father said, shaking his head slightly, "not your features. Your personality. You have...matured...and I am proud. You have become a very smart young woman, and you have made a name for yourself. That is all I can ask. That you learn to stand on your two feet." I smiled. I was so happy to think that my father was proud of me. The older I got, the closer Father and I got.

"I might get some sleep" I said quietly. Father nodded once and finished off his wine. He stood up and held out a hand to help me stand up.

"Goodnight, Dad" I said, hugging him slightly. Father put his arms around me and hugged me tightly. I was unsure if the wine was affecting him...

"Goodnight, Isabel." He let go and walked out of my office.

* * *

Two weeks had passed. It was a new year. Thank god. I hoped that all those complications that I had...with Lucius, and Remus, and Draco...that they would just go away. I didn't want to speak too soon, though. I'm pretty sure the complications with those three would continue, and new complications would appear. Sucks for me, really. I also hoped that my father and I would grow closer. I mean, we were kind of close now, and it made me happy.

The day was gone in a flash. I wasn't looking forward to the evening. I had stupid bloody corridor patrol tonight. Too much fuss going into these corridor patrols. All that happened during the patrols was the portraits getting annoyed that I wouldn't talk to them. I looked over my shoulder to see the beautiful black coat with the silver detailing that Lucius got for me. I didn't want to wear it. It would be a betrayal to myself. I walked to the chair and picked it up slowly. I haven't even seen it on me. Bloody hell. I took my blazer off and I put the coat on slowly and buttoned it up. It fit perfectly. The top of it was very tight fitting, exactly like my blazer, and the rest of it fell to the floor. It looked amazing. It felt amazing. Oh, stuff it. I might as well wear it for one night. I picked up my wand and tucked it safely in the coat.

"Let's go" I said to myself. I took one last look the mirror before heading out the door of my office.

As time flew past, the halls and corridor's got darker. I couldn't see a thing. It scared me, a little. I didn't want any unexpected visitors showing up in the dark when I couldn't see them. I took out my wand slowly and held it up.

"Lumos" I said. I tip of my wand lit up, and hey presto, I could see!

"Put that stupid light out! We're trying to sleep!" A portrait snapped at me.

"Shut up" I spat back at it. The portrait seemed quite offended, but I couldn't give a damn. I mean, really, what could that picture do to me?

"How rude!" The picture next to the one I just told to shut up said.

"You can shut it too" I said, talking to the picture that just told me I was rude, pointing my wand right at it. I sighed, shook my head and walked off. I didn't have to deal with this. Not tonight.

I was tired. I've had enough of these freaking stupid paintings telling me to put the light on the tip of my wand out. Did they think that I should trip my way through Hogwarts? Stupid. I walked down the stairs to the dungeons, wanting to get to bed as soon as I could. I felt like there were bags appearing under my eyes, ugh.

* * *

A few days later, I was extremely bored. I was pacing around my office, but I could hear three voices, coming from my father's office. Three familiar voices. They were annoying me. They were interrupting my train of thought. I wanted to check it out. I flicked my wand to open the door to my office and the door father's office.

"Hello gentlemen" I said, smiling. The two men and the boy turned to look at me. I glanced behind Harry to see Ron standing there, too, looking bewildered.

"Isabel" said Father, Harry and Remus in unison. Harry, Remus and Father all looked incredibly confused by what I was doing. Remus and Father turned to Harry and Harry coughed, realising what he had done wrong. His head dropped slightly, but he still kept eye contact with me.

"Pardon me. Professor Snape, I mean" he said, in a sort of half whisper.

"Now, may I ask, what on earth are you three going on about?" I asked. Remus looked at me, shrugged and half smiled.

"I found Mr Potter and Mr Weasley carrying this" Father said, pointing his wand towards the piece of parchment sitting comfortably in Remus' hands. While Father's attention turned towards Harry, Remus looked at me, his eyes wide, telling me to lie to my Father. It was obviously for the sake of Harry. I could tell it wasn't an obvious piece of parchment.

"Dad, it looks like it's just a piece of parchment. I highly doubt there's anything hidden. You wouldn't do something like that, would you Harry?" Harry shook his head and I looked back at Father.

"You're worrying over nothing" I said.

"Harry, Ron, could you come with me please?" Remus asked, "Good day to you, Severus. Isabel." Remus smiled at me when Father wasn't looking, and he soon left with Harry.

"You have to blame Harry at every chance you get, don't you?" I rolled my eyes and left my father's office, not wanting any conflict. I made my way back into my office, wondering what the hell Harry had in his posession As I said, it wasn't a simple piece of parchment. There was something strange about it. I could tell. Remus wouldn't react like that to nothing. I would need to talk to Remus.

* * *

**A/N: That chapter was pretty rushed. We went from early December to early January. If you want to know more about what's coming, keep reading...**

**Next chapter will be VERY interesting. Remus will explain many things about the Marauders and the Marauders Map. The teachers will have a dinner where someone will embarrass Isabel. Severus will find something out and be absolutely furious. And Isabel and Remus have an extremely important talk, and this will be the talk that they have to finally work out what's going on between the two!**

**Reviews are pretty cool! I like them heaps. Feel free to leave one!**


	24. Sectumsempra

**A/N: Hello everyone. Welcome back to another chapter :) I am really hoping that you are enjoying this story so far. To new readers, welcome! I congratulate you on finding this particular fan fic. I applaud you. **

**I have to apologise for the last few chapters. I feel more guilty about it everyday. Not to worry though! Chapter 25 & Chapter 26 will have some pretty nice action in there, so not to worry.**

**Thanks to: TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, HerAwesomeness & LadyFateContemplatingDisaster for your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

The next morning, I woke up and decided to pay Remus a little visit. Today, I also decided to wear my long black coat that the Malfoy's (well...I'd say one particular Malfoy) had got for me. Was it such a crime? I wanted to know what last night was all about. It was weird. Harry was acting weird, Remus was acting weird, Father just seemed confused about everything that was going on and then there was me. I had no clue. I raced up the stairs from the dungeons and quickly made my way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. I passed a few students that were up early, and a few teachers, such as Flitwick and Sprout, who I believed also liked early morning strolls. I arrived at the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, and up the stairs to Remus' office. I knocked on the door and walked in.

"Good morning, Isabel" Remus said, his back turned to me.

"How did you...? Nevermind. You're up early" I said. Remus turned to face me and smiled.

"As are you. I like that coat, who got it for you?" Remus took a sip of what seemed like pumpkin juice from a cup that was sitting on his desk.

"Lucius." Remus coughed and his eyes widened.

"Why the hell would you be wearing something from him?"

"I like it. Anyway, I'm trying to think that it isn't from him."

"Come to think of it I preferred your blazers" Remus told me. I raised my eyebrows and nodded.

"Uh, huh. Right. Well, what I wanted to know was what the hell last night was about? What was that thing you confiscated from Harry? And why exactly did you ask me to lie to my own father?"

"So many questions. I liked you better when you weren't so suspicious of everything" Remus joked. I rolled my eyes and sighed. I hated it when people didn't take me seriously. Remus saw the look on my face and nodded.

"Very well," he said, "Harry was wondering the corridors last night with this." Remus pointed his wand towards the parchment that Harry had from last night. It was sitting on his desk. It wasn't all folded up like it was last night. It was covering a lot of Remus' desk. I took a closer look and I realised something. This was a map. However, it was no ordinary map, it showed people. It showed everyone in Hogwarts. What rooms they were in, what they were doing...

"This is amazing" I whispered to myself.

"One of my greater inventions" Remus mumbled to himself. I turned to him and gasped.

"You made this?"

"I did," he said while nodding, "with James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black."

"Seriously? Shit, this would have taken ages." I took a look at the front of the map and smiled.

"_Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs  
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers  
are proud to present  
THE MARAUDER'S MAP. _What does that mean?" I asked.

"Take a seat. This will take some explaining." I sat down in the seat next to Remus, and right next to the map. It was fascinating. I could see myself on it.

"Alright, back when I was at school here, I was best friends with James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black...but you knew that, didn't you?" I nodded. I remembered the whole story that Minerva had told me.

"Right, well, we called ourselves the Marauders."

"The Marauders?"

"Yes. We were quite the popular group, apparently. Anyway, these were our Marauder names. James was Prongs. Padfoot was Sirius. Wormtail was Peter. And I was..."

"Moony" I said, a huge smile on my face. Remus smiled back at me and nodded once.

"Moony" he repeated.

"Why did you call yourselves those names?" I asked. Remus cleared his throat and it seemed he was hesitating.

"I'll tell you that another time. Much too complicated."

"Oh. Okay" I said. Remus was hiding something from me there. I just knew it. I couldn't be bothered pressing the issue.

"Anyway, we decided to make a map of the whole of Hogwarts. I suspected Sirius and James just wanted to do it so they could cause trouble. And obviously, we were successful."

"And how did Harry get it? I mean, was it passed down to him? Did his father give it to him?" Remus shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"I have no idea how he got it. So, he was obviously looking at the map last night and he saw someone. It was peculiar."

"Who did he see on the map?"

"Peter Pettigrew." I gasped and took a look at the map.

"That's impossible. Pettigrew's dead. Sirius killed him. The map is lying!"

"That's just the thing, Isabel. That is what's got me so..."

"So, what?"

"The map never lies, Isabel. Ever."

"Are you sure?" Remus nodded. I sat back in my chair and sighed. How was it possible? Pettigrew couldn't be alive. There was no way. They only found his finger. That was it. The conspiracy theories were going through my mind. One after the other, but each as unlikely as the next.

"Don't dwell on it. It will only drive you mad" Remus said. He was right. I had to stop dwelling on things. It wasn't healthy.

* * *

The day had passed. No incidents to report, really. I had an interesting talk with the Weasley twins. I liked Fred and George a lot. They were great. They didn't stand for any stupid rules, but they knew when to stop and when enough was enough. They were smart, too. Our talk was pretty riveting. Fred and George had a sort of questionnaire for me. They asked me all sorts of questions, like ones about me, my personal life, and then they moved on from me to my father. Fred said they had to have me answer my father's questionnaire because he refused to do it. It was funny. I walked back into my office and stood in front of my mirror. The teachers were having a 'special' dinner tonight, so I had to make some sort of decent impression. It was my second teachers dinner, and I didn't want it to turn out like before. During the first one I had insulted my father to a point where he was sitting in his office in the dark, sulking.

I took a hair tie and a silver ribbon and began doing my hair. The silver ribbon was to match the coat that I was wearing. No...I didn't want to think about him right now. That wouldn't do me any good. I tied my hair up into a high pony tail, and tied the silver ribbon in a row around it. I left my fringe out, too. I never liked having my fringe back. It made me feel more vulnerable. I straightened out my coat and inhaled deeply. I did one circle to see what I looked like. I exhaled and nodded. There was a knock at the door and Father opened the door.

"If you do not come now, you will be late" he said.

"Did you wait for me?" I asked.

"I did not want you to be late, so yes, I did wait for you." I checked my pocket to see if my wand was still in there. Good. It was. I walked to my father and smiled up at him.

"Let's go, then. You don't want to be late, do you?"

* * *

We walked into the Great Hall. It was different. The usual long tables were moved to the side, and in the middle was one large circular table. Most of the teachers were there already, and Dumbledore was there too.

"Severus" Dumbledore said, smiling. We advanced to the table and I sat in between Remus and Father.

"Hello, Miss Snape" Dumbledore said, giving me a small wave. I forced a smile and nodded at him. Dumbledore could be extremely weird sometimes. The last few Professors entered the room and took their seats. Dumbledore stood up and smiled.

"Welcome to you all. I know you're probably all very busy, marking work, essays and such, but I would like to just have a nice night, so we can all just have an enjoyable time." With that, Dumbledore sat down, and the food appeared at the table.

* * *

We had finished with our main course and we were all waiting for desert. There had not been that much talk so far, but I was weary. The talking would start just about now, I'd imagine.

"Remus," Dumbledore said, turning to the senior Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, "what's it like teaching alongside Miss Snape? She's not giving you too much trouble, is she?" He laughed. My father did not look to amused. I wasn't either. I hated being the topic of conversation. Remus smiled warmly at Dumbledore and glanced at me quickly.

"She's a delight to work with" he said plainly, "she's very tolerant of some things, but she knows how to deal with students when they take it too far. She's very smart too."

"Excellent" Dumbledore said, his eyes lighting up, "and what to you think of her personally, Remus? I'm sure you've both had the chance to become...close." Oh, no. Not here, old man. Not here. Father seemed to be a lot more interested in the conversation. I saw his head pop up when Dumbledore said 'close'. I sent a warning look to Remus. If he revealed anything too personal, I'd kill him.

"Isabel," he said, looking at me and then quickly looking back to the rest of the table, "is an incredibly warm and kind person. She sees the best in people, even if that person has proved to be the complete opposite of what she sees. She's independent and determined. She's a remarkable person." I tried to hide my smile. No one had ever said something so kind about me.

"And sometimes it's so hard to teach because she's distracting me with how beautiful she is" Remus laughed, as did everyone else (except my father and Minerva). God, I hope that everyone just takes that as a joke. I glanced at my father, and he didn't look amused at all. He looked pissed off.

* * *

The rest of dinner went...interestingly. Remus kept his mouth shut, thankfully. Minerva was telling stories about her time at Hogwarts, and how the teachers would annoyed at how she got the Transfiguration stuff in a heartbeat, and how her classmates never got anything before she did.

"Well, I think it's time to head to bed" Minerva said, standing up, "thank you, Albus, for a wonderful meal."

"It's time for me to go too, Headmaster. Thank you for a nice evening" I said, standing up and walking over to Minerva.

"Well, thank you both for attending. Have a lovely night Minerva, Miss Snape" Dumbledore said. I smiled and left the Great Hall with Minerva right next to me. I could feel my Father and Remus both watching me as I left.

"What was that all about?" Minerva asked when we were a fair distance away from the Great Hall. We continued walking towards her office. Walking and talking became the big thing for me here while I was a teacher. I had no time for it anywhere else, really.

"What was what?" I enquired.

"Remus! He was quite..."

"I get where your coming from, Minerva, and I completely agree. I had no idea he was going to say that about me."

"He was very sweet, though" Minerva said.

"Do you really think so?" I stopped and turned to Minerva, who stopped just after I did.

"Isabel, I can't tell you what to do. But you've made it clear that Remus is not the one for you, and as much as he tries to persuade you, don't give in to him. It's not good for you and it won't be good for your friendship. "

I shook my head and sighed, "you're right. It's not good. I've made a decision not to be with him, and I have to follow through on that. I guess it's just me thinking that it's the only option." Minerva pursed her lips and touched my cheek.

"My dear, there is a man out there for you...you will find him, and he will find you. I promise you." We reached Minerva's office and she hugged me gently.

"Sweet dreams, dear" she said softly before walking into her office. Minerva's words hit me. I had to stop that little part of me that thought that Remus was the only option, because he wasn't. I am never going to be with Remus. I seriously have to stop with this crap. I walked back to the dungeons and into my office to see someone standing there. Someone who was not looking particularly happy.

"Hello, Dad" I said, closing the door to my office gently. I walked over to him and smiled. I knew exactly why he was here, I just didn't want to have a fight about it. I'd avoid the subject if I could.

"Did you enjoy dinner?" Father asked coldly.

"It was lovely" I said, making it obvious I was talking about the food.

"Lupin certainly has a lot of praise for you."

"We're good friends. He's very supportive of me."

"Do not lie to me" Father said, walking over to me. He stood over me and shook his head.

"What are you talking about? You're acting absurd."

"Isabel, are you with Lupin?"

"Am I with him? What the hell are you going on about?"

"Answer my question."

"No! I'm not!" Father whipped out his wand and pointed it at me. There was nothing I could do.

"Legilimens!" He said. All of a sudden, my father was through my mind. First, he saw the memory between Remus and I. The one where he kissed me. God, this was embarrassing. Then, it turned to the memory where I told Remus I didn't return any feelings for him. I quickly put my Occulmency into check, and kicked my father out of my head. I sat back quickly and looked up at my father, who was obviously shocked.

"I'm sorry..." I started to say. Father held his hand up, as if he were telling me to be quiet.

"I have to go and pay a visit to someone..." Father said. Father turned on his heel and walked swiftly out of my office. I looked in the mirror. I could see the tears gathering in my eyes. Oh my god. I had to go after Dad. He was going to see Remus. I ran out of my office to try and catch up to my father. I was wearing heels, so it restricted my running.

* * *

I reached the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Father had just walked into Remus' office. I ran quickly up the stairs and into Remus' office.

"How dare you, you filthy dog" Father said, walking right up to Remus and punching him in the face. Blood began pouring out of Remus' nose. It wasn't a lovely sight.

"Dad!" I screamed. I ran over to Remus and knelt beside him. I put my hand on his arm as he sat up.

"I'm guessing you found out about my feelings for your daughter..." Remus began, looking at me.

"He used Legilimency on me" I told Remus. My head fell and I sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Remus."

"Do not apologise to that filthy - "

"Father, it's in the past."

"It doesn't look like it's in the past to me!" Father exclaimed. I stood up and walked over to Father.

"Please. This is not important!"

"Isabel, I am not angry with you..." Father whispered, "it was all Lupin's fault."

"Please, Father."

"Alright" Father said. I half smiled and walked over to a cupboard, trying to look for a towel or cloth to clean up Remus' bloodied face. I saw Father take his wand out. He quickly turned to Lupin and raised his wand.

"Sectumsempra!" Father said before leaving Remus' office.

"NO!" I screamed. Remus fell to the ground and I rushed over to him quickly, so that there would be minimal blood loss. I whipped out my wand and pointed it to Remus' wound on the side of his body. Luckily, Remus had moved out of the way so the curse did't fully hit him.

"Vulnera Sanentur"I said, my wand running along his wound. The blood had cleared up, and he had stopped bleeding. His nose had stopped bleeding as well. I held the cloth to Remus' face and touched his cheek gently. I could feel the tears leaving my eyes. This was the last thing I wanted to happen.

"Are you alright?" I whispered, moving my hand from his cheek to his forehead.

"I'll...b-be fine" Remus choked out. He tried to sit up, but I pushed him back gently.

"Don't sit up. You're much too weak." Remus nodded and half smiled.

"Why are you doing this for me?" He asked.

"Because I care about you. Your my friend..."

"You're amazing. You really are."

"Don't flatter me, Remus."

"No. It's true," he said, sitting up slowly. Remus took my hand and smiled.

"It's true. You are the most beautiful woman I've ever met. You're too kind to me. You're too warm. You're amazing." I thought I knew where this was going, because I've had this talk with Remus before.

"But you're not mine. And you'll never be mine. I think that I love you, but you'll never love me. When you find that certain man, he'll be the luckiest man on earth. You're not mine...and I have to let you go." Remus kissed me on the head and brushed my cheek with his hand. Remus was letting me be. I couldn't believe it. I cleared my throat and stood up. I helped Remus up and helped him to his bed.

"I have to go" I said softly. Remus nodded.

"Goodnight, Remus."

"Goodnight, Isabel." I looked around Remus' office and then left. I couldn't deal with anymore. I walked quickly down to the dungeons and burst into my father's office.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? If I hadn't known the counter curse, Remus could have died!" I yelled at Father, who was sitting behind his desk. He looked up at me, and I could see his face. It looked lifeless. He looked guilty.

"I know" he whispered. I walked over to him and shook my head.

"Why did you do it?" I asked. Father didn't move. He just sat there. I took out my wand. I didn't want to do this, but I had to know why he did it.

"Legilimens" I whispered. I looked right into my father's mind. I saw one thing, and one thing only. The Marauders teasing my father. Well, Sirius and James. But Remus did nothing to stop it. I was immediately kicked out of my father's mind.

"Is that the reason?" I asked. Father nodded, his face full of shame. I walked over to my father and hugged him slightly.

"First thing tomorrow, you'll go and apologise to Remus. Do you understand?" Father nodded and sighed. I began to walk out of my father's office when he cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, Isabel" he said softly. I turned around and my lips curled up.

"I accept your apology. Just don't do it again. Night, Dad." And with that, I walked out of Dad's office and into my own. After the night I just had, I needed sleep desperately.

* * *

The next day I woke up to see Minerva sitting in my chair. I was surprised to see her. I mean, it was very early in the morning. Why would she be here? I picked up my wand from my bedside table and pointed it at my black robes.

"Accio Robe" I said. My robes came flying towards me, and I put them on over my pajamas. I walked over to the chair and smiled.

"Good Morning, Minerva" I said, trying to sound as happy as I could.

"Good Morning, dear" she replied.

"What can I do for you?" I asked, sitting in the chair opposite the Transfiguration Professor.

"What happened last night?" Minerva asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Remus and your father both got up very early, and they were speaking in the corridor. They were apologising to each other. Could you tell me what on earth that was all about?"

"Well, last night, I went back to my office and Father wanted to know what was going on with Remus and I. I wouldn't tell him so he used Legilimencyon me. He found out about Remus and I. He found out Remus kissed me. He instantly went to Lupin's office, and I ran after them. Firstly, Father punched Remus in the face. Then he went to leave, he used his own curse on him. I had to heal him quickly so no serious damage would be done."

"Oh my lord!" Minerva exclaimed, "it is not like Severus to act like that."

"I guess he's just protective of me" I said, shrugging.

"Well...thank goodness they apologised to each other. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go. I have things to attend to."

"I'll see you later, then" I said.

"Yes, dear" Minerva said, waving before leaving my office. I sighed and poured myself a cup of tea. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

The weeks flew by. It was not awkward anymore between Remus and I. Although I could tell he was heartbroken, I knew he could accept that I couldn't be with him. It was nice to have that sort of feeling. Father and Remus kept their distance, but they kept their relationship civil. It was all I could really ask for. Remus went way again. I didn't know where, but he did. I got a few more classes to teach on my own. It was fine, I guess. Andromeda and Tonks paid me another visit. It was nice. Andromeda baked me some cakes and stuff, which was cool. I got a few letters from Fleur which was nice.

I was sitting at my desk, marking students papers when Dobby appeared in my room, holding a letter.

"Miss Isabel!" Dobby exclaimed.

"Hi, Dobby. What's up?"

"Dobby has brought a letter for Miss Isabel. Dobby thought Miss would want to read it straight way. Dobby thought it was important. Nothing else was more important to Dobby then giving you this letter..."

"Alright, Dobby, calm down. Give me the letter." Dobby passed the letter to me and I opened it.

"Oh no" I whispered to myself. Shit.

_**Dear Isabel,**_

_**I would like to invite you to dinner tonight. 7PM. No earlier, no later.**_

_**I do hope you come. I enjoy your company very much. You are a delightful guest. I would also like to discuss how you enjoyed your Christmas gift. **_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Lucius Malfoy**_

"Is Miss alright?" Dobby asked.

"I have to go, again..." I whispered. This was no good. No freaking good at all.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter! I completely see where Severus is coming from! That was also a nice little moment between Remus and Isabel, don't you think? **

**Next chapter...Malfoy Manor & Lucius! And Isabel & Severus will go and visit two people that they really don't want to visit. It will end up in a pretty big conflict...but not between father & daughter!**

**Reviews, please! **


	25. Trust

**A/N: Hello everyone :) Welcome to another chapter! Welcome to new readers! **

_**Thanks to:**_

_**ThoughtVortex**_

_**death_wish_girl**_

_**blueberrybird28**_

_**LadyFateContemplating Disaster**_

_**For your reviews!**_

**Now my story was Rated T for a reason, and you'll see why in this chapter - Isabel can have a pretty foul mouth on her at times. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I stood in front of the mirror in my office looking at my reflection. My skin seemed more pale then usual. I took the silver box out of the top drawer of my desk and opened it. The necklace that Lucius had bought for me was beautiful, I had to admit it. I picked it up and put it around my neck. It sat so perfectly, it was kind of sickening. I couldn't believe I was wearing it. And the coat from Lucius that I was wearing...it was too perfect. Everything he bought for me was perfect. My dark eyes stared at my reflection in the mirror, and the truth appeared. I was scared. I never wanted to admit it. I thought that I was stronger, but I'm not. I'm scared.

* * *

I walked into Father's office to see him reading the Daily Prophet.

"Hello" I said quietly.

"Isabel...you look very."

"I know. I got another letter from Lucius. I have to go over there."

"Please take care of yourself. Have you got your wand?" I nodded with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm. Father saw the expression on my face, and he stood up and walked over to me.

"I'm scared..." I whispered. Father put an arm around me and sighed.

"You will get through this."

"Why am I scared now?" I asked.

"I cannot answer that, I'm afraid" Father replied. I glanced at the time on the clock on Father's wall.

"I have to go."

"Good luck" Father said, hugging me tighter before letting go and returning to his chair. I put my black robes over my coat and lifted the hood over my face. I took the floo powder in my hands and inhaled deeply. I was going from being the safest I could be to being the most vulnerable I could be. _'Be brave, Isabel.' _

"Malfoy Manor" I said clearly.

* * *

I arrived in a different room this time, yet it was familiar. It was Lucius' study. I looked around to see Lucius sitting in the seat behind his desk.

"Isabel, how lovely to see you!" Lucius said, standing up and holding his hand out to me. As I took his hand he helped me out of the fireplace. I removed my robes to reveal the coat that Lucius had bought me for Christmas.

"Narcissa was right, it does look amazing on you" Lucius said, looking at my coat.

"Thank you. It's a wonderful gift. I feel guilty for not getting you anything..."

"Don't worry about it. Your presence here is a gift in itself, Isabel. Now, Dinner has been served, so I think we'd best going to the dining room." Lucius held out his arm and I took it reluctantly. He led me out of his study and we began walking down the halls of the Malfoy Manor. It was so big, it almost felt empty and cold.

"I see you are wearing your necklace that I bought for you" Lucius said, looking down at me while we were walking through the hall.

"It's very nice" I replied. Lucius looked away from me. He seemed a little shocked. I didn't know why though. We made our way into the dining room and took our seats. There was a lavish feast on the table. I hated the way he made such a fuss over me. The way he actually seemed to care just that little bit.

"Enjoy" Lucius said, smiling.

"Thank you" I said softly, in almost a whisper. I started to take food off the plates, bowls and pots that were on the table. There wasn't a lot of food on my plate. I wasn't hungry. I think I was staring at my plate. I couldn't tell. I was in a sort of trance. I was trying to figure out what I would do for the rest of the night. I needed a plan. Lucius cleared his throat and I looked up quickly.

"Excuse me, Isabel. Are...are you alright?" Lucius asked.

"What?" I blurted out.

"Are you alright? You don't seem yourself."

"It's nothing, Lucius" I replied. The whole reason I was being like this was because I was scared of Lucius. I couldn't tell him I was scared. He'd start questioning me like crazy. I was stuck in a hole here. A very, very deep hole.

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Lucius said, leaning forward, "I'm...worried."

"Lucius, please. It's nothing." Lucius nodded and his attention turned to the food on his plate. He didn't have much on his plate either. I guess that's how he kept his body shape. I mean, he seemed quite fit. _'What the hell, Isabel? No...you did not just comment on how good his body looked.' _Oh my god. My head was right. I had to snap out of it. And quick.

"So..." I began, trying to get Lucius off of my case.

"How is teaching? I hear that you have taught some classes on your own..."

"Yes, it's true. I have" I said, "how did you know?"

"Draco wrote me a letter. He tells me that you are a great teacher."

"Did he?"

"Do you doubt yourself?" Lucius asked. That put me on the spot. I thought that I was confident, but Lucius had a point. I seemed to be second guessing myself too much. Maybe I did doubt myself. Maybe I should be more confident then I actually am.

"I can't answer that, Lucius. Not at the moment."

"Why would you doubt yourself? You seem to have the students won over. I hear that the other teachers already respect you and your teaching methods. I do not understand..."

"Maybe it's just me, Lucius. Maybe it's not the other people around me. Maybe I have a problem with myself." Lucius stood up from the table and began walking out of the room swiftly.

"Come with me!" He called out. I rose from my seat and followed Lucius, who was heading to his study. We arrived in his study and he passed me a photo in a frame. It was Lucius. He was in his Slytherin robes, smiling.

"This was in my sixth year" Lucius told me.

"Not to be rude, Lucius. The picture is lovely. I just don't get why you are showing me this."

"I didn't know who I was when this photo was being taken. I was all confident on the outside, but on the inside I was confused. I didn't know which way to go in my life. But you know what...I think that it was a good thing. You cannot go on doubting yourself. I was happy at this point, even if I was confused. You have to live for the moment, Isabel. Don't go living for yesterday, and don't go living for tomorrow." My lips curled up into a little smile. He made so much sense. But he wasn't right. Something wasn't right about Lucius. He never came across as completely real. I didn't know when I could trust him, and when I couldn't. It troubled me so much.

"Do you get where I am coming from?" Lucius asked.

"Yes" I whispered, turning to Lucius and handing him the picture, "I understand."

"Good" he said, putting the the frame back in its original spot. I felt quite uncomfortable. I went back to the first night I had come to the Malfoy Manor, when Lucius asked me what he did to show he couldn't trust me. After the awkward moments during the first evening I was here, Lucius hadn't really shown me anything to tell me not to trust him. That was the problem. I couldn't believe a word he said, yet he wasn't doing much wrong. I sat back in the seat next to the fireplace that wasn't lit.

"You seem unhappy" Lucius said.

"Do I?"

"Yes, you do."

"I didn't know..."

"You're avoiding my question."

"I cannot answer your question, Lucius. There is something missing in my life and I don't know what it is yet. Until that is found, I'm afraid I won't be so...joyful."

"Incredibly like your father, you are" Lucius muttered.

"Excuse me?" I had heard what Lucius said. I only decided to say that because I thought that he'd repeat it louder, and show that he wasn't scared to speak out in front of me. However, I was wrong. Lucius turned away and took out his wand. I panicked for a small moment. I thought he was going to shoot a spell at me. I closed my eyes and gathered myself for impact. I heard a noise and opened my eyes slowly. My eyes turned towards the fireplace which had just been lit.

"What are you doing?" Lucius asked, looking at me like I was some idiot. Oh god, this was embarrassing. This was more embarrassing then the time I nearly transfigured one of my classmates into a pigeon in my first transfiguration lesson.

"I...I thought..."

"You thought I was going to attack you?" Lucius laughed, shaking his head and sitting down in the seat next to the fire place.

"You worry me sometimes, Isabel" he said.

"I worry myself" I mumbled under my breath. I couldn't believe I was that stupid. Bloody hell.

"You look a little pale this evening" Lucius told me.

"I thought I was pale all the time" I replied, a tone of irony in my voice. Lucius laughed again.

"Hilarious" he said, sarcasm filling his voice.

"Why is everyone worried about me, Lucius?" I blurted out. I had been wondering this for a while now. It seemed that everyone was worried about me. Father, Andromeda, Dumbledore, Tonks, Minerva, Remus and now Lucius...though, I wasn't sure if Lucius' worry was genuine.

"Is everyone worried about you?" He asked, and seconds later regretting that he did.

"Right. Well. You haven't been acting yourself. The whole time you've been here you've been sort of...reserved. Usually, you're confident and happy and excited and all those positive qualities that I am yet to list. You seem to be lacking all of that this evening. And as I understand, you've been lacking that for a while."

"When will I have all of those...positive qualities back?"

"As you said, you are missing something in your life. I suspect that does play a part in the way you are acting. I think you'll be better once you realise that you should be living your life to please yourself."

"You think I'm living my life to please others?" I hissed, standing up. Lucius quickly stood up, put his hands on my shoulders and sat me back down.

"That's not what I said at all, but now you imply that you...'

"I didn't say anything, nor did I imply anything" I said, a tone of rudeness filling my voice. I crossed my arms. I felt so freaking immature when I did that.

"You're a lot kinder, too, normally" Lucius whispered.

"You know what, Lucius?" I stood up again and took out my wand. I pointed it at my black robes. They were sitting on the back of a chair, still covered in ash from my trip here.

"Accio robes." The robes flew towards me, and I put them on. I put my wand away and placed the hood of my robes over my head.

"Stick your stupid crap about me being unhappy. Screw this shit. I don't have to listen to motivational fucking talks, especially from you. Goodnight, Lucius."

"Isabel, wait. I was only trying to help..." Lucius grabbed my arm and turned me around.

"Yeah, you and the rest of the world. You can all go and fuck yourselves because this is something that I don't freaking need." I seized my arm and stepped into the other fireplace in Lucius' study. I took floo powder and inhaled deeply. _'Let's just get out of here.'_

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Severus Snape's Office."

* * *

I arrived back in my father's office. To my surprise, Remus and Minerva were both standing with my father.

"That was quicker than usual" Father said. Remus extended his hand. I took it and he helped me out of the fireplace.

"He makes me so angry" I said, leaning my head on my father's chest.

"What happened?" Minerva asked, placing one hand on my back. I didn't move from where I was standing.

"He was trying to get all deep with me. All that meaningful conversation crap. He was pretending to care."

"Well, that's the worst thing that could have happened. Lucius was pretending to care" Remus said, mocking me.

"Shut it, Lupin" I snapped.

"But..."

"You heard her, Lupin. Zip it" Father spat.

"Alright, well then _Snivellus..._" That pushed me over the edge. I walked over to Remus and pushed him backwards.

"What did you just call him?"

"Uh, I didn't call him anything" Remus started to mumble.

"I know what you did to him in his school years. How could you! I thought all this time that you were the kindest person I've ever met and then I find out by using Legilimency on my own father that you and your fucking little Marauder friends practically tortured him in his school years."

"Isabel..." Remus began to say.

"There is nothing you can say to me, Remus. The person you have hurt is not me! The person you hurt is my father. I bet you haven't even apologised for it."

"I..."

"You have not" Father said plainly.

"Severus, I apologise."

"No!" I shouted. Minerva was standing in the corner of the room, observing what was going on. She seemed a little frightened by the confrontation that was happening right in front of her.

"You don't mean it. You're just saying it because I'm here" I said coldly. Remus reached out for my arm and I stood back so he couldn't touch me.

"I've had enough. I can tell that you don't give a shit about apologising to my father. Fuck off." Remus coughed. He looked incredibly uncomfortable. He gave one small nod and walked out of my office. Minerva's face was full of shock. She'd probably never heard anyone swear like that before...let alone me.

"Language, Isabel" Father said.

"I was standing up for you. And I'm not in a good mood."

"Well that is not going to make what I have to say to you any easier." Minerva walked out from the corner and began to leave.

"That's my cue. Goodnight, Severus. Goodnight, Isabel." Minerva disappeared, leaving just Father and I.

"What's going on?" I asked. I braced myself for more bad news.

"I got a letter while you were at the Malfoy Manor."

"Really? Who from?"

"My mother."

"You got a letter from your mother? My grandmother?" Father nodded his head and surprise filled me. Father had only told me two things about my grandparents. One, they weren't worth the time. Two, he never spoke to them.

"She...and unfortunately, my so called father, want to meet you."

"You told them about me?"

"Actually, no, I didn't. I never wanted you to know them. But she demanded to meet you."

"When will we be going, then? To see them, I mean."

"Tomorrow evening."

"Lovely. Cannot wait" I said, my tone full of sarcasm. I didn't want to meet them. If they were worth my time and worth my father's time, I might want to meet them. But they've never been present for anything. No Birthday's, no Christmas'...nothing. They didn't give a damn.

"You should get some sleep. It'll be a long night tomorrow. Trust me."

"Alright. Night, Dad." Father nodded and left the room, leaving me on my own. I reflected on the night that I had. I was very rude to Lucius. A lot more rude then normal. I guess he was getting under my skin...it pissed me off. He was so right about so many things. Best to ignore it.

* * *

It was 5PM and I was getting ready to meet my grandparents for the first time. I was trying my best to look presentable. I didn't know why I was trying, though. They didn't seem very pleasant. I had gone back to wearing my normal dress and blazer. I put the coat from Lucius away. I didn't want to look at it, and that was that. The necklace he had bought for me was also packed away, out of sight. Sitting around my neck was the Thestral necklace. Most people ask me how I can see Thestral's, and the answer is that I saw my grandfather die. On my mother's side, I mean. He died from an illness. Dragon Pox, I believe. There was a knock at the door and Father walked in.

"Come on. Let's get this out of the way" he said.

"Just a moment" I replied, tying my hair back into a pony tail, leaving my fringe out.

"Ready" I told him, "how are we getting there?"

"We're taking a carriage to Hogsmeade, and from Hogsmeade we will be apparating." I felt the side of my dress to check if my wand was secure. It was, and we set off on our journey.

* * *

Rain pelted down onto the roof on the carriage. It was miserable outside. I didn't want to apparate in this weather. Luckily, Father knew this spell that would keep us dry. Always reliable, my father was. I was fortunate to have him in my life. We sat in silence the whole ride down to Hogsmeade, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was more like 'I appreciate your presence' type of silence. Father didn't need words to express himself a lot of the time. You'd only need to look at him to know if he wanted you there or not. The carriage arrived in Hogsmeade. I stepped out into the pouring rain, but thanks to my father, I wasn't getting wet. He held out his arm and I took it. Father looked down at me and sighed. It was obvious that he didn't want to see his parents. As soon as I knew it, we were outside a little house, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

* * *

The house wasn't exactly a mansion. It wasn't the Malfoy Manor. Our house was nicer then this place. I didn't even need to step inside to know that. Father appeared to be getting more impatient and pissed off by the second.

"If they start getting too much to handle..." Father began to say. I touched him lightly on the arm and half smiled.

"We'll leave, I get it. I respect it. Let's just get this over and done with." Father inhaled deeply and knocked on the door. I could hear a few noises coming from inside, like pots were dropping and all. Finally a woman opened the door. Her face was sallow. Her hair was jet black and even more scraggly looking than Father's. God, I didn't want to know her. This was my grandmother, Eileen. I just knew it.

"My Son! Welcome..."

"Is he here?" Father asked.

"Is who here? Tobias? Of course he is!" She looked over Father's shoulder and made direct eye contact with me. No, I didn't want this. This was a bad idea to come here. A very bad idea. She put her hand to her chest and gasped.

"My lord. Severus, she's beautiful. Is this really my granddaughter?" She asked with amazement filling her voice.

"Yes, she's my daughter" he replied, avoiding the words 'your granddaughter'.

"Come in, both of you." She moved to the side as Father and I reluctantly walked into the house. This really was a terrible idea. Eileen (I didn't want to call her grandmother or any of that crap) led us to the sitting room, where a man was sitting. As soon as I walked into the room I could smell the alcohol coming off him. The man looked up and gave a grunt.

"Severus. Decided to come home to your old man? Took you long enough...go fetch me a beer" he said.

"I'm not back for good, I'm here for a visit."

"Huh." This was obviously Tobias, my grandfather. He was exactly how I expected him to be - a person who didn't give a damn. Eileen waddled into the room and sat next to her husband.

"Tobias, Severus has brought someone with him. Someone special" she said, patting him on the arm.

"No doubt its an ugly tramp that he met a week ago" he said, his voice more grizzly than before. Father looked down at me and gave me an apologetic look. I stepped forward to face my grandfather. He glanced at me once, and then he turned fully to me.

"Shit. You're not an ugly tramp. Severus, this surely cannot be your girlfriend. She's young enough to be your daughter."

"Funny that," I said, finally speaking up, "because I am his daughter." Tobias turned to Eileen, his eyes wide.

"I told you it was true, Tobias" Eileen said.

"Why the hell are you...nice looking? Severus isn't nice looking." Tobias turned to Father and raised his eyebrows. Father rolled his eyes.

"Her mother is half veela, meaning Isabel is half veela" Father told him, his voice cold. Tobias' expression was one of confusion and Father went on to explain it even more. I knew Tobias was a muggle, I just thought he'd know something.

"Veela's are more attractive then the average person. They are supposed to be blond hair and bright. However, the only traits Isabel has inherited is obviously the...striking looks and the pale skin." Tobias seemed completely taken aback with what Father had to say. He kept looking at me, and then back to my father. He couldn't believe it.

"Isabel, my dear, I would like to show you something. We'll leave the men in here, I believe they need some time to catch up" Eileen said, standing up and leading me out of the room. I didn't want to go, but I had my wand. I'd be safe. Plus, I don't think she'd try anything out on me. Eileen led me down a hallway, chatting away, seemingly to herself. She led me into a room. The room was quite well decorated. The rooms walls were a dark, dark blue colour.

"I saved this, just incase Severus did have any children. I thought it was highly unlikely, but then I saw the picture of you with the Hogwarts staff in the Daily Prophet" Eileen said, walking over to a chest of draws. She slowly opened the top draw and passed me out a piece of parchment. I opened the parchment to see a note written on it.

_**My dearest grandchild,**_

_**Tonight will be the first night that we meet, and I could not be more pleased that you are on this earth with us. I hope you bring Severus as much joy as you bring me. **_

_**I give this to you hoping one day that you will appreciate my company, and I want you to know that even though we might not have known each other for long, I love and care for you deeply. **_

_**All my love,**_

_**Your Grandmother**_

_**Eileen.**_

I looked up from the parchment and smiled at my grandmother. She cared. I could tell she cared. I couldn't say the same for Tobias, but I knew that she gave a shit about me and Father.

"Thank you" I said softly. Eileen smiled and passed me something wrapped in brown paper. I unwrapped the small package and to my amazement, there sat a bracelet. It was a gold bracelet, with diamonds all over it. They were real diamonds.

"How did you - ?" I chocked out in my amazement. Eileen took my hand and pat it gently.

"My mother passed this down to me. It was passed down from her mother. She gave this to me a few months before she kicked me out for...well, eloping with a muggle."

"It's beautiful. Thank you." I gave her a small hug. Our moment was interrupted by shouting coming from the sitting room. I rushed back to see Tobias pushing my father around.

"You good for nothing bastard. I told you to get me a beer, and you'll do what you're old man says."

"You have had enough for tonight" Father replied calmly. Eileen rushed up behind me and shook her head.

"Please, stop. Tobias!" She exclaimed when Tobias pushed my father again.

"Shut up, bitch. I'll deal with you and our little granddaughter later" He spat at us, "I bet that's why you had a kid, to steal money off me. Is that it?"

"No...Isabel, we're leaving" Father said.

"No you're bloody well not. You and your kid can stay here until I get the truth" Tobias snapped. He was obviously drunk. He punched Father in the face and Eileen screamed.

"Stop it!" She shouted at Tobias. Tobias waked over to Eileen and hit her in the face. I had enough of this shit. I whipped out my wand and pointed it at Tobias.

"Expelliarmus!" I called out. Moments later, Tobias was shot down by my spell and was leaning against the leg of a chair. He went to get up, but I rushed over to him and stuck my wand into his cheek.

"Don't make me do anything worse" I said, threatening him. He glared at me and I raised my eyebrows.

"You're a bitch" he snarled. I pushed down on my wand so it would go harder on his cheek.

"Are you asking for it?" I asked. He just sat as he was, and I removed my wand from the side of his cheek. I rushed over to Eileen, who was tending to my father. I knelt down and put my hand to my father's forehead.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"I'm fine" he said, getting up from the ground, "let's just go."

"What about your mother, we can't just leave her here."

"It's okay, dearie. I'll go stay at a friend's house." Eileen picked up the bag that was next to the shelves.

"I always keep a bag packed for emergencies" she told me.

"Don't leave, Eileen" Tobias pleaded, standing up to walk over to his wife. I stepped in front of my grandmother and raised my wand.

"Back off" I said harshly.

"You won't do anything with that" he spat, taking a few steps back. If Father wanted us to leave, he would of taken me by now, but I knew he wanted to see what I would do with Tobias.

"You wanna bet?"

"Go on, do your worst" Tobias growled. I smiled, walked to the kitchen and opened the cupboard that the alcohol was in. Tobias, Eileen and Father rushed into the kitchen to see what was happening. When Tobias saw which cupboard I had unlocked, he shook his head with disbelief.

"No, don't!" He begged. I shrugged my shoulders and pouted, mocking him. I flicked my wand and all the alcohol bottles shattered. Father and Eileen stood there watching as the liquor spilled onto the floor. Tobias knelt down and began to try and save his whisky, gin, beer, vodka and all the other countless amounts of alcohol he had stored. I smiled and put my wand away. That was the last time he was to hurt my family.

"Let's go" I said to Father and Eileen. Eileen picked her bag up and I put the bracelet on my wrist as we left the house.

* * *

"Do you not want to come with us?" I asked Eileen as we stood outside the house. We could still hear the shouts of 'you bitch' and 'oh my god, all my booze!' coming from inside the house. Eileen shook her head and smiled.

"I'll go stay with a friend for a while, I think" she said. She walked over to the both of us and smiled.

"Thank you, Severus. For letting me see her. I know that it wasn't easy for you to be here."

"Do not return to this house, Mother. He will only take his anger out on you" Father said. Eileen nodded and walked over to me.

"You have exceeded every expectation I had of you," she said softly, brushing her hand against my cheek, "you are a gorgeous girl. I am so blessed and proud to have you as my granddaughter. And you saved me from him. I know that you'll be just fine. You have the brightest future ahead of you." Eileen stepped away from Father and I, and in the blink of an eye, she disapparated.

"Shall we return to Hogwarts?" I asked Father. He looked at me and gave me a hug.

"I am so proud of you for not standing there and letting that happen. Thank you. I know that wasn't easy at all" he said.

"Tobias is a bastard" I told Father.

"That we can both agree on." He let go of me and held out his arm. I took it and we apparated back to Hogsmeade. The carriage was waiting for us, and as soon as we knew it, we were back in our offices in the dungeons of Hogwarts, where we both belonged.

* * *

**A/N: That was the longest chapter so far! I hope you enjoyed it. I had a tough time trying to work out what Eileen and Tobias would be like. I hoped you liked the portrayal of both of them. And darling Lucius has gotten on Isabel's bad side. She's not happy with him. **

**Next chapter is a big one. A big one. I'll give you some teaser words and names: Sirius Black. Peter Pettigrew. Remus Lupin. Werewolf. Shrieking Shack. Harry, Hermione & Ron. Severus. Hurt. Betrayal. Tears. Epic. Moments.**

**I hope that's enough to get you jumping out of your seats!**

**Reviews = Love!**


	26. Troubles

**A/N: Hey guys :) How are you all? I've been thinking for a while how to write this chapter, seeing as it's a pretty important one. I hope you liked last chapter. I actually think it's the best one so far (hope you agree!)**

**Guess what...**

**Me & my friend have got our tickets and we're going to the midnight screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2! I cannot wait!**

_**Thanks to: RainingTearsAndPixieDust, ThoughtVortex, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle & HPFan for your reviews!**_

**Disclaimer: I have to credit the most amazing J.K Rowling for creating the most amazing thing of all time.**

* * *

The next day arrived and I had a little bit of a headache. Last night wasn't very...expected. I thought that Tobias was bad, but not _that _bad. I felt sorry for Eileen. She was kind of genuine...which was nice. I was honoured that Eileen gave me her bracelet. I meant something to her. The bracelet was apart of one of the most prestigious magical families in history, the Prince's. Pureblood's. Just having one of their family heirlooms made me feel as prestigious as the actual family.

I was sitting down reading the _Daily Prophet _when my father walked into my office. He looked a lot more emotionally rattled than usual. No doubt last night would of taken a massive toll on him. I mean, he was punched in the face by his own father. He witnessed his father hit his mother and call his daughter a bitch. I couldn't help but feel that it was partly my fault. If I had told Father not to even bother with going to see his parents, we wouldn't of even been in that situation. That punch from Tobias was partly my fault.

"Good morning" Father said, sitting down in the chair opposite me.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, putting down the newspaper on the table.

"Last night didn't exactly go to plan."

"You're right about that" I told him, laughing. My laugh had no humor in it at all. It was more of a pitiful laugh.

"I am so very sorry" Father said.

"No," I relied, shaking my head, "it was not your fault. Tobias is an absolute bastard. Do not go blaming yourself for his disgusting behaviour."

"So mature" Father whispered, seemingly to himself.

"Thank you" Father said to me.

"For what?" I asked, shrugging.

"For everything you did last night. If you didn't have the courage to stop him, who knows what he would of done. Not just to me, but to my mother, or to you."

"Alcohol can be very...consuming" I said, raising my eyebrows.

"It's not just the alcohol with him. It is like his life revolves around destroying people's lives. He had to bring them down to his level." Father's head fell and he sighed. I knew how hard his childhood was. It's not like he talked about it all the time. He never talked about what it was like for him as a kid. That's how I knew he had a terrible childhood.

"Alright. Well. I guess we should be going to do something productive" Father said. I nodded and stood up.

"Let's get to it."

* * *

Evening fell, finally. I needed a good nights sleep for my splitting headache. It was shitting me up the wall. I believed Minerva was coming around too. She wanted to have a little 'girl to girl' chat, but I knew she was worried about me. I guess my language yesterday encouraged that worry. If Mother ever heard me say those things...gee, I don't want to even think about it. I searched my bookshelf for a good book to read to calm things down. I fell back into my soft armchair and exhaled slowly. This is the life...relaxing. If I could do this all night, I'd be a happy woman.

"Isabel" Father said, busting into my office. _'Spoke too soon'. _Shut up, brain. That wasn't necessary.

"What is it?" I whined, rolling my eyes. I bet it's just some kid has done something wrong.

"Isabel, you need to come with me."

"Why would I do that?" I asked, "I have a good book and I'm relaxing."

"I didn't say 'do you want to come', I said 'you need to come'." I slammed my book down on the table and put my wand in my pocket. This better be freaking good for interrupting my night.

"Let's go then" I told him. Father led me quickly up the stairs and out of the dungeons. He looked a lot more...on edge. I didn't know why. I'd just have to go along with it.

Father led me out of the corridors and out of the walls of the school. We were walking through the school grounds. This was very peculiar. I had no idea what was going on. Father was marching towards a certain tree, and I was dawdling behind him. I couldn't be stuffed doing this right now. I looked up and realised what tree it was.

"Shit" I said, "Dad, this is the Whomping Willow!"

"Do you think I'm one of the dunderhead students? I know what tree this is." There was something different about the tree. It wasn't moving like it usually did.

"Why isn't the tree moving?" I asked.

"Just come along" Father told me. He walked over to an opening at the base of the tree. It looked like a tunnel leading to somewhere. I never saw this before. Father glanced down to the base of the tree to see a special looking cloak. He picked the cloak up and put it over us.

"Are we invisible?" I gasped.

"Yes. Now, Isabel, for safety purposes, please be quiet."

"Where does this go?" I asked.

"You'll see" Father told me in a stern voice. This did not seem as if it was going to end well. Father sat and slid down the tunnel. I looked around me once more before sliding down the tunnel. Father held my shoulders and his eyes met mine.

"We have to do this. This is for the good of the whole wizarding community. Take your wand out." I reached into my pocket and pulled my wand out slowly. I had no idea what the man was going on about, but if it really was for the good of the wizarding community, I guess I had better do it. As we walked farther, I realised we were in the Shrieking Shack. Holy shit, I was in the most haunted building in Britain. As we advanced further into the shack, I started to hear voices. They sounded familiar. Well, all except one. Father looked back at me and held his finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet. I held my wand out in front of me, getting ready to shoot a spell at anyone who tried to hurt me or my father. As we grew closer and closer, I recognised Harry's voice, Ron's voice and Hermione's voice. They were speaking about trust, and Harry's parents. Father walked quickly up the stairs and held out his wand. We were hearing many things, and Remus began to tell Sirius that Father was teaching here.

"So that's why Snape didn't like you" Harry said, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right" Father jeered, taking the Invisibility cloak off of us. He pointed his wand right at Remus. I looked to my right to see Harry standing in front of Ron and Hermione. I then turned my attention to my left and saw a man standing here. He looked almost like a corpse. His skin looked waxy, his teeth were yellow, his hair was dark and matted.

"Sirius Black" I breathed out. I then realised what was happening. Remus and Sirius were on the same side. My god, he was helping him. He was never on my side.

"Remus" I said, turning to my friend, "what's going on?

"I told Dumbledore over and over that you," Father turned to Remus, "were helping your old friend into the school. And look, I was exactly right. Here's the proof." Father turned back to Sirius and shook his head.

"Severus...you're making a mistake..." Remus started to say, taking a few steps forward. I pointed my wand at Remus and he stepped backwards quickly.

"Isabel..." he began.

"Shut it, Lupin" I said harshly.

"Don't worry yourself, Remus. She's a little girl, what can she do?" Sirius said, mocking me. Father's expression was pure anger at the moment, but I could tell the triumph of catching Black would come out soon.

"Sirius, she's dangerous - "

"Two more for Azkaban tonight! You know, Dumbledore thought you were harmless. A tame werewolf!" Father scoffed.

"You fool, is a school boy grudge worth putting an innocent man back into Azkaban?" Remus said softly. That sent my father over the edge. Thin cords burst from the end of Father's wand and twisted around Remus' mouth wrists and ankles. He fell to the floor and was unable to move. I kept my wand pointed at Black, just incase he had any tricks up his sleeve. Black began to move towards Father, but Father pointed his wand between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason. Give me a reason and I swear I'll do it. Actually, all I have to do is call the dementors! Yes, I think that would be suitable. They'll be pleased to see you, maybe they'll decide to give you a little kiss!" Father turned to me and gave me a nod. I turned to Harry, Hermione and Ron and half smiled.

"Come on, let's get you back to the castle" I told them. Harry moved slowly, pointing the wand in his hand to Sirius. He walked slowly towards the doorway. He then turned his wand on my Father.

"Expelliarmus!" He called, and Father flew back and hit the wall. Drops of blood were seeping from the back of his head.

"Dad!" I screamed, dropping my wand in shock. Black quickly untied Remus. Remus quickly picked my wand up and stood back.

"Remus, give me my wand" I demanded.

"Sorry" he said, shrugging.

"Thanks, Harry" Remus said.

"I'm not saying I believe you" Harry replied.

"Then we better give you some proof" Black said.

"Show me." I turned to Harry and shook my head. He was so freaking irresponsible. He could of gotten himself killed. If not by Black, then by that stupid tree! Sometimes, I had to question Harry's judgement. First year, he went after Quirrell on the third floor corridor to get the stone. Second year, he went into that Chamber of Secrets and now this! Black, Harry, Remus, Hermione and Ron were all now talking about how Scabbers was missing a toe and they only found Pettigrew's finger. They were talking about secret keeping and all this stuff I had no idea about. But I believe that they were saying that Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew. How freaking ridiculous. Before I knew it, Remus and Sirius shot a spell at Scabbers. There were a few flashes of light and soon enough, standing there was a man. A very...weird...looking man.

"Remus! Sirius! My old friends!" The man rushed over to Remus and Black, but they pushed him back.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter. About what happened when Lily and James died. You might have missed a few things when you were sitting on the bed..." Remus began.

"Remus! You don't believe him! He tried to kill me!" Pettigrew shrieked.

"So we've heard. I'd like to clear up a few things, though..."

"He's going to try and kill me again! He killed Lily and James and he's going to kill me too! Remus, help me!"

"No, not until we sort things out!"

"Sort things out? He came after me! He's come back for me!"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban when no one has done it before?"

"He has dark powers? I reckon He Who Must Not Be Named taught him tricks!" Pettigrew shrieked...yet again. Black started to laugh. It was terrifying, actually.

"Voldemort teach me tricks?" Black said.

"What, scared to hear your own masters name? Don't blame you though, that lot aren't happy with you..."

"I have no idea...what you mean, Sirius" mumbled Pettigrew. I was growing more suspicious by the minute. Yet, I was still frozen. Still in shock.

"You don't believe this, do you, Remus?" Pettigrew asked.

"I must admit, I don't know why an innocent man would spend twelve years as a rat."

"Innocent but frightened! Voldemort's supporters were going to come after me for putting one of their best men in Azkaban. The spy, Sirius Black!"

"How dare you!" Sirius growled, "me, a spy for Voldemort?"

* * *

They continued going on and on about how Pettigrew was a spy and he betrayed James and Lily Potter. Finally, Pettigrew succumbed to the pressure, and he finally admitted that he had told You Know Who about James and Lily.

"You don't know what he's like! He forced me!". Fucking hell. He's alive! I thought he was dead. Everyone thought he was dead. Bloody hell. I was getting a headache. This was all too much. Talk about confusing. I looked over to the place where Father was lying. No sign of movement yet. I couldn't move, though. I still felt frozen. I didn't think it was fear, I think it was shock. I turned back to the conversation to see Remus and Black turning their wands on Pettigrew. They were going to kill him. No, Remus couldn't become a murderer! I was about to stop him, but before I could, Harry intervened.

"No!" Harry shouted.

"Harry..."

"I know what he is. We'll take him back to the castle," Harry said, as Pettigrew fell at his feet, thanking him, "get off me, I'm not doing this for you! I'm doing this because I don't think my dad would of wanted his two best friends to become killers! You can go to Azkaban, where you truly belong!" The thankful look on Pettigrew's face turned to pure fear. Black and Remus retreated and I turned to Hermione. She understood what I meant and began making her way out of the shack. I wanted to help my father, but they needed my help. Remus passed me my wand back.

"I cannot believe this" I told him.

"I'm sorry" he said, walking over to me and taking hold of my arms, "I never wanted to lie."

"I know. It's just I never thought you'd lie to me." Remus put his arms around me and hugged me tightly.

"I'm sorry" he whispered. Remus and I glanced to the side to see Sirius watching with interest.

"Is she your girlfriend, Moony?" He asked.

"No!" Remus and I both replied at the same time. Sirius grinned and helped Harry take Ron out of the shack. Pettigrew attempted to get hold of Remus, but I stuck my wand out and held it next to his face.

"Don't touch him" I said coldly. Remus took hold of his arm and I stuck my wand into the side of his neck. We walked out of the room and began making our way out of the Shrieking Shack.

* * *

As I stepped outside into the moonlight, I took in the fresh air. The night was beautiful...crisp. I looked over to see Harry and Sirius talking. They had many things to discuss. At least Harry had someone new in his life to take care of him. I knelt down next to Ron and Hermione to help out with Ron's leg.

"You alright?" I asked.

"It hurts!" Ron whimpered.

"You'll get over it" I told him. I saw Hermione stand up and scream.

"HARRY!" Harry and Sirius turned around and began running back over to us. I had no idea what was going on until I turned around to see Remus. No. Oh my god. I looked to the sky to see the full moon. Remus' was turning into a werewolf before my eyes. He wasn't human anymore. He wasn't the warm, loving Remus I was used to seeing. And I didn't see the signs! The scars...the trips away...the mood changes. Fuck. He was changing. Remus had fully turned and he was heading in our direction. I held Harry, Hermione and Ron close to me. I was the adult here. I was the one who had to care for them. As soon as I knew it, a black dog jumped in and leapt onto Remus. Remus turned to the dog and started to attack the dog.

"It's Sirius. He's an Animagus" Hermione whispered into my ear. Wow, tonight is full of surprises. As we watched Sirius get taken down by the werewolf, Harry ran over to him.

"HARRY!" I screamed. I felt like running over to him and helping him, but I couldn't. I had to stay with Hermione and Ron. Remus crept over to Harry, but just before he went to attack him, a call came from the distance. A call from another werewolf.

_FLASHBACK_

'_The werewolf only responds to the call of it's own kind.'_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

As soon as I heard that call, I'd hope Remus went that way. Thankfully, he did, and the werewolf I thought was one of my closest friends, disappeared into the night. I looked to see Sirius had changed back into his human form, and he also disappeared. Harry glanced back at me before following his god father.

"Harry" I whispered, frightened for my friend. I turned to the other two and shrugged.

"We need to get Ron to the hospital wing, now." Hermione nodded and helped me with Ron. We began walking away from the Whomping Willow and towards the school.

Hermione, Ron and I arrived at the Hospital Wing. Poppy Pomfrey stood up and rushed over to us. She had an expression of pure shock on her face. There was no way we could explain everything to her. It'd be too risky. For Sirius, for Harry, for Ron, for Hermione, for Father...even for me.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Long story, Poppy. Just get Ronald the best of care, immediately" I told her. She nodded and showed us to a bed. Hermione and I rested Ron on the bed.

"Will you be alright with him?" I asked. Hermione nodded and smiled.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You and Professor Lupin. You're very close. And I know that you didn't know about him being a werewolf. It must of taken an impact on you." She could tell everything I was feeling, just by looking at me.

"I'll be fine" I lied, "just look after Ron. I have to go."

"Of course." I smiled down at Ron.

"Get better."

"Thanks, Isabel."

"For what?" I asked.

"For just being there for us" Hermione told me. I hugged Hermione slightly before leaving the room. Although I wasn't showing it, I was truly an emotional wreck. I walked down the corridors of the school, my head spinning. I'm sure a few teachers saw me and wondered what was going on, but I didn't give anything away. When the corridors were clear, I began running. I needed to run. I needed to run away. He was a werewolf. Him. The man I thought was one of my closest, best and most trusted friends. I ran down the stairs that led to the dungeons, and my office. As I ran into my office, I saw Dumbledore standing there.

* * *

The Headmaster looked at me with nothing but interest. I wasn't crying, but I must of come across as rattled. My hair was a mess, my clothes full covered in dirt. I could swear some of my make up had smudged. I cleared my throat and straightened up.

"My, you have had a terrible night" Dumbledore said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and walked over to me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"What are you talking about, sir?" Dumbledore chuckled under his breath. He never believed me when I was lying. He knew everything.

"The news about Remus must not have been easy."

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Remus has been troubling you a lot lately. It's a full moon outside and you've come back to your office at this time of night looking like an absolute mess."

"I thought he would of told me" I whispered, choking up slightly. Dumbledore sighed and sat down on the arm of my chair.

"Trust has to work both ways."

"I did trust him! I would of trusted him with my life! The stupid thing was that I thought he cared enough about me to tell me the truth!"

"It was hard for him, too. You have to look at this from his point of view."

"No, I don't. Headmaster, he lied to me. He actually thought he loved me! And I didn't return any of those feelings. Yet he still persisted. If he loved me, how come he didn't have the decency to tell me the biggest detail in his life."

"You will have to ask Remus that when you see him again" Dumbledore said. Dumbledore's face looked perplexed when my expression changed to one of uncertainty.

"I take it you will not be seeing him too soon?" Dumbledore asked. My face didn't change and Dumbledore nodded.

"I understand. I will leave you alone. I think you need time to tend to you and your thoughts." Dumbledore half smiled and left my office.

I ran my hand through my hair and kicked my desk. _'He's a werewolf. He's a werewolf. He's a werewolf. Remus, Remus, Remus. Remus is a werewolf. One of our best friends is a werewolf. He didn't tell us. He was lying to you. He didn't trust us..he never did. Did he use us? He's a werewolf. We should of known better. Why didn't we see this coming?' _My thoughts were going around and around in a circle. A vicious circle. No thoughts entered my head except thoughts of Remus. All the signs were there. I was such an idiot. I touched the scars on his face, and I knew! I knew something was different. Something wasn't right about him. I sat down and put my head in my hands. This wasn't real. And bloody hell, Pettigrew was alive and Sirius was innocent! This night couldn't get anymore confusing. This night couldn't get anymore shocking. I couldn't be anymore hurt. I was breaking. I was cut. Remus might as well of ripped me to pieces tonight, because that's exactly how I feel.

As I sat in my own self pity, I began cry. My emotions were running on high. It was like I was being shot with the Sectumsempra curse over and over again. Remus, my father, my grandparents, my sister, my mother, Sirius, Pettigrew...it was all too much. It was confusion overload, and I was in the middle of it all. I needed to go somewhere. I didn't know where. I just needed to go. Someone needed to help me. Someone had to help me escape my misery. I needed to drown someone else in the deep emotional sea that I was drowning in. I needed someone to pity me. I sat there for a while thinking of the choices. McGonagall? Hell no. She wouldn't pity me. She'd tell me to go speak to someone I didn't want to speak to. Andromeda and Tonks? No. Wasn't the right time. My mother? No, I was kicked out of the house. There was no way in hell that I was going to speak to my father at the moment. Molly Weasley? No. She'd get too involved with Remus and I. Bill or Charlie? No, they wouldn't understand. I was running out of choices. There was only one more person left. Shit. I couldn't...not after the way I acted the other night. Would he give me pity and sympathy? Yes. Would he get too involved? No. I had to visit him. He was the only one that could help me. I was shattering into tiny little pieces and someone had to help pick them up and put me back together. It was late, but I'd assume he'd still be awake. I put my black robes on quickly and put the hood over my head. I stepped into my fireplace and took the floo powder.

"Malfoy Manor" I said.

* * *

I had arrived at Lucius' private study. As I stepped out from the fireplace, I saw a tall man, holding a glass of wine, turn towards the fireplace. He walked over and stared in disbelief. I took my ash-covered robes off to reveal my dirty dress and blazer. My make up had run. God, I probably looked like I was a inferius.

"Isabel?" Lucius said, his tone full of surprise.

"H-h-hi" I choked out.

"It's so late! What on earth are you doing here?" He asked.

"I just needed someone to talk to" I told him. He nodded his head slowly. As I took a few more steps forward towards Lucius, I lost it. I began to cry and I practically fell into his arms.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Everything" I whispered.

"Tea?" He asked. I looked up at him and nodded.

"You should come and sit down" he said. He lead me over to a seat and sat me down. I tried to stop crying, but the tears kept flowing down my cheeks.

"You can cry in front of me" Lucius told me, half smiling. I kept weeping, thinking of my friend, and how he changed from human to werewolf before my eyes. Lucius passed me a cup of tea and sat down beside me. It was going to long night.

* * *

**A/N: So, Isabel found out everything to do with Sirius, and along the way she found out the man that was in love with her was a werewolf...ouch. And where did she end up? Crying in the arms of Lucius Malfoy.**

**Next Chapter - Isabel tells Lucius what happened and continues to cry over what happened. When she returns to Hogwarts - she confronts her father and they have an argument. Isabel also confronts Remus.**

**I love Reviews!**


	27. Vulnerable

**A/N: Hello, how are you all going? I hope you're well! Last chapter was really a defining moment in this story, as Isabel found out that everyone was lying to her. This chapter should be interesting, and I hope you enjoy it!**

_**Thanks to:**_

_**ThoughtVortex**_

_**LadyFateContemplatingDisaster**_

_**TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle**_

**_death_wish_girl_**

**_Reader AZ_**

**_DyinginWonderland_**

**_WritersOfTheGods_**

**_Xhex-Athame-Snape_**

**_Fury Posessed_**

**_For your reviews of last chapter!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I take any credit for any of it.**

* * *

I sipped the tea that Lucius had given to me slowly, feeling quite depressed. People I thought I could trust were just liars. I couldn't give a shit if they were doing it to protect me, I just needed to know. I placed the tea on the wooden table in front of me, sighed and put my cold hand underneath my pale chin.

"How are you feeling?" Lucius asked.

"Cheated...insignificant...worthless..."

"Don't say you're worthless" Lucius said.

"They all lied to me, Lucius!"

"Who lied to you?" Lucius asked.

"My friends. My father."

"I'm sure it will all pass sooner or later."

"Lucius, I've been waiting for this shit to be passing soon. I've had to put up with so much from so many people. It's like I'm stuck in the middle of everything and that it's just not going away."

"Why did you come here?"

"I didn't have anywhere else to go. Father had lied to me. I couldn't stand to be at Hogwarts at the moment. My step-father kicked me out of my mother's house so I couldn't go there...and - er - you were the first person I thought of when I stepped into the fireplace." Lucius gave one nod and sat there in silence. At that point, I knew it was a mistake to be here. It was dangerous for me. If I said a word wrong, there would be consequences.

"I guess it's nice to know that you felt you could, well, confide in me" Lucius said. I flashed a fake smile and sipped my tea again.

"Life can be so unfair" Lucius said.

"Yeah, it can" I replied, truthfully, "one minute, you think your traveling just fine and that nothing can stop you...and then bang...you're pretty much gone."

"I've been there" Lucius said with a glass of firewhisky in his hand, raising his eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Yes, and I would prefer if we didn't talk about it."

"Oh, of course. My apologies. Where's Narcissa, if you don't mind me asking?"

"She went out shopping earlier today and I haven't seen her since. Probably ran into some old friends or something" Lucius told me.

"She helped me choose that coat for you" Lucius said, "speaking of the coat...why are you not wearing it?"

"I didn't want to get it dirty" I lied.

"You are extremely considerate" Lucius replied.

"I try to be." Lucius saw that the cup of tea on the table was empty and began filling it up. As he did, he glanced up at me and smiled. It was a real smile, although, you could never really tell if Lucius was real. As he finished pouring the tea, he stood back and took a good look at me.

"Are you sure you don't want anything stronger?" He asked, holding up his glass of firewhisky.

"God, no. Not in the state that I'm in."

"Very well" Lucius said, sounding a little disappointed.

"I have to apologise about the other night. I was so, so, so rude to you. I can't believe how rude I was, actually. It was unfair to you. I should not have taken my bad mood out on you. You didn't deserve it."

"Don't apologise. You just needed to vent."

"The language I used was atrocious" I told Lucius, remembering exactly what I had said to him.

"Trust me, I've used that sort of language before. We all use it sometimes."

"You are so understanding" I said, a tone of surprise in my voice.

"I wouldn't get anywhere by not being understanding, now would I? We wouldn't be able to sit here and talk like this without one of us eventually snapping." I laughed without any humor in my voice. I drank my tea again, assessing the situation. Lucius had been very hospitable. He could of easily kicked me out, especially at this time of night. And he had forgiven me for the other night. Maybe this was a different kind of Lucius, a different kind than the Lucius people usually talk about.

"Thank you, Lucius" I said softly.

"For what?" He asked.

"For being understanding, for caring, for helping me out...for giving a shit."

Lucius laughed, "well, when you put it that way. You're welcome."

* * *

The clock was ticking away, and I realised that I had been at Lucius' for an hour. People would be wondering where I was...especially Father. But I couldn't care less. They lied to me, and they can deal with the repercussions of my extremely bad mood later.

"Are you hungry?" Lucius asked.

"No, I'm fine" I lied. I was starving. I didn't want to look like I was poor, begging for food.

"Isabel, you can't hide it. I can see it in your face. You're absolutely famished."

"Is it really that obvious?" I asked. Lucius nodded and I sighed. Lucius flicked his wand and a nice looking soup appeared with accompanying bread.

"Narcissa made it earlier. It should be fine to eat."

"Thank you" I said as I began eating. It was weird, having someone watch me while I ate food. I couldn't stand it. Imagine if I did something embarrassing. It's humiliating just thinking about it.

* * *

As I finished my soup, Lucius flicked his wand to get rid of the empty bowl.

"Thank you so much for that."

"You are very welcome."

"Ugh, Father isn't going to be happy when I see him next" I said.

"Why?" He asked.

"Well, I didn't exactly tell him that I was going somewhere. He's going to be all _'where did you go?' _and _'don't do that again'. _That's just something I don't want to put up with. Although, I am angry at him so thats an excuse..."

"You sound like your rambling to yourself."

"I'm pretty sure I am rambling to myself" I laughed.

"Are you feeling better?" Lucius asked.

"Emotionally or physically?"

"Let's start with emotionally."

"No. I am exhausted. It's like a non-stop train ride, and I can't get off. And when people lie to me like they did...it just makes it ten times harder."

"How about physically."

"I'm holding up."

"Is the emotional exhaustion turning into physical exhaustion?" Lucius asked. I don't know why, but it felt as if my head was getting hotter. I felt like the anger was building up inside of me.

"What are you, Lucius? Are you my doctor or therapist?" I spat. Lucius sighed and right back into his chair. My head fell into my hands and I shook my head.

"I am so sorry. The stress is getting to me" I said to Lucius.

"I can see that. I'm only trying to help."

"I know that" I said, looking up at Lucius and smiling, "I do know that. Things are hard at the moment and every little thing is getting to me. Trust me, Lucius...I know that you are trying to help me."

"I do trust you" Lucius told me. Those words shook me.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes, I do. I believe every word that comes out of your mouth - except when you lied about not being hungry earlier." Wow, that hit me like a bullet. I felt a little bad about it. Lucius trusted me, and I hardly could believe a word that came out of his mouth.

"Does that surprise you?" Lucius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes...it does..."

"And why does it surprise you?"

"Because, you haven't given me a reason not to trust you yet. Trust is a lovely yet fragile thing. It can be shattered easily, but when handled with care and caution, trust can blossom into many things."

"You speak about it like it's something delicate..."

"Trust is delicate" Lucius told me.

"You are extremely wise" I said.

"When you live a little, you learn a few things."

"And I am a silly little girl..."

"No, you're not. You are a delicate flower that needs to be handled with care so you can blossom right. You need people around that will help you along the way, because you can't do it yourself."

"You like using flower analogies" I laughed.

"They're easy to use" Lucius said, shrugging his shoulders. I looked over at the grand clock that was sitting on the wall and cringed. Father would be anxious to know where I was. But I didn't care. He lied to me, he deserved all the frustration and anger.

"Is something bothering you?" Lucius asked so my attention would turn back to him.

"No, not at all."

"It's late..." he began.

"I don't want to go back. Father will give me some sort of lecture, and at this time of night, I'm not feeling quite up to it." Lucius laughed and nodded.

"I would think he just cares a lot for you."

"Father, caring a lot? I think you have the wrong man, Lucius," I scoffed, "he doesn't care for anything a lot."

"You and I both know that isn't true."

"How am I supposed to know anything? He didn't tell me what was going on...he didn't care about how I was going to feel. Why should I fucking believe anything that anyone says?"

"Because people do care about you, whether you choose to accept it or not. And your father does care about you. He cares about you more than anyone else. He speaks very highly of you, and with such adoration about the woman you have become. He practically raised you through the hardest years of your life. And maybe he lied to you to protect you, think about it from his point of view." I pressed the cup of tea to my lips and closed my eyes, contemplating what Lucius had just said.

_Flashback_

"_I believe we aren't supposed to be starting werewolves..."_

_Father ignored me and began pointing out how to recongnise a werewolf._

"_Why did you start teaching them about werewolves? That isn't the topic that Remus and I were up to with the students." I asked._

"_Why don't you go ask Professor Lupin that question."_

_End of Flashback_

So Father did tell me...at least not directly. He gave me hints. He dropped a few clues here and there. He didn't completely lie to me, but he didn't tell me either. I opened my eyes and looked at Lucius.

"I have to go" I told him.

"What?"

"I have to leave." I stood up and walked over to the fireplace. Lucius followed me quickly.

"Why?"

"I just realised something. I need to go speak to my father." Lucius sighed and gave a nod.

"If you must. I was having a good time, though" Lucius said. I smiled and nodded.

"I had a good time, too. Thank you for being so hospitable...and at this time of night. You helped me out a great deal."

"You're welcome. I'm here...any time that you need me."

"Thank you, Lucius" I said. I stepped into the fireplace took some floo powder. I had suddenly formed a different opinion of Lucius. He didn't seem so scary anymore. He was more welcoming, if anything. He knew all these things, like how to actually treat trust. I wish I knew if he was actually genuine.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Severus Snape's office."

* * *

I arrived in Father's office to see Father pacing around his office. He looked over to the fireplace and exhaled, in a sort of relief. He rushed over to me and put his arms around me, giving me a tight hug. I pushed him off, as I was not happy with him.

"Where were you?" Father asked.

"Never mind where I was. You lied to me."

"I didn't tell you Lupin was a werewolf for a reason..."

"And what was that reason? So I could figure it out for myself? I'm sorry but what kind of father type practice are you trying to put into place?"

"I was protecting you!" Father exclaimed.

"Is that so? Well, tell me this, oh holy protector, what would you have done if I had...I don't know...fallen in love with Remus?" I asked. The little colour on father's face drained and his expression went blank.

"You're not in love with..._that..._are you?"

"Answer my question" I snapped. I wasn't in the mood for avoiding any questions. I wanted to know why Father lied to me...if there was a reason.

"I would of told you then..."

"Why?"

"I would of told you then because..."

"You cannot give me an answer" I said.

"I thought I was doing what was best for you."

"Well, that turned out to be a grand old idea." Father rolled his eyes at my sarcasm.

"Now you can answer my question. Are you or are you not in love with Remus Lupin?" My mouth fell open and I laughed.

"Are you joking?" I asked.

"Answer me!" Father shouted.

"No, I am not. Plain and simple. I'll go up to the astronomy tower and scream 'I am not in love with Remus Lupin'" I replied. Father's blank expression turned to one of embarrassment. He hated that I was able to hold my own against him. He was the powerful one until I learned to stand up for myself. To my complete and utter surprise, Father grabbed me by my wrists and held me tightly.

"Next time you plan on seeing a werewolf behind my back, try and make it more subtle" he snapped. I tried to break away from his hold, but he was too strong.

"Don't lie to me" he said.

"Bit rich coming from you" I muttered.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" He shouted.

"What makes you think that I am lying?" I asked, softly. Father's grip loosened, but not enough that I could escape from his hold.

"What makes you think that I am lying" I repeated, "trust me." Father's left hand let go of mine, and then his right hand slowly relinquished mine.

"Trust me" I whispered, nodding.

"I am sorry" Father said.

"I know my behaviour towards Remus seems suspicious, and I am not going to lie to you. You've been hurt enough. Remus cares a great deal for me, Father. But after you used the Sectumsempra curse on him, he let me go. I never wanted to be with him because I do not feel that way. You have to trust me."

"Trust works both ways" Father told me, sternly.

"And I trust you. Or I thought I did, until you kept everything a secret."

"I was doing it to protect you."

I shook my head and sighed, "no you weren't. You were doing it to protect yourself from any harm or any blame that would come to you."

"You are my number one priority" Father said.

"I know that too," I said, nodding, "don't think for one second that I don't know that. I get what you were trying to do, but your methods were wrong. Just so, so wrong. And they hurt me. Next time, just please rethink the way you go about things like that. Try not to put yourself first." I stood up and began making my way out of Father's office.

"I captured him" Father said. I turned around and raised my eyebrows.

"Captured who?"

"I captured Sirius Black."

"What! No, Dad, he is innocent!" I shouted, barging right back over to where my father sat.

"Innocent? He killed people!"

"I heard the whole story. You cannot send an innocent man to death like that. Think of Harry! He just got his godfather back...he's the only thing even close to family that he will have."

"Potter does not need a criminal as his...role model." Things in the room felt even more tense, and the fury that had built up finally was released. I slapped my father across the face. I knew it was not respectful, but I didn't respect any decisions that my father had made.

"Sometimes, I forget that you're an full grown adult. Neither Black nor Harry deserve what you are giving them. Did your small little schoolboy grudge need to be brought into this?" Father stood up and looked down on me.

"How dare you treat me with such disrespect!" Father grabbed me by my wrists and held me even tighter than the first time.

"The sad thing is, is that you're really just a coward - not facing up to what happened in the past" I whispered.

"Do not call me a coward!" Father snapped.

"Then stop acting like one!" I hissed, seizing my wrists and storming out of my father's office.

"Coward, coward, coward, coward!" I called out as I shut the door.

I walked back to my office and sighed. It was very early morning and I needed my sleep. I assessed the day that had just passed me by. It was the most significant day of my teaching career...and maybe even the whole time I had been at Hogwarts. I had to deal with something that was completely new to me. I thought I had done well, and found out the truth. But soon came something even more harder. I had to confront Remus.

* * *

The next day passed by so quickly I didn't even know it had gone. It was nightfall, and I had my most important piece of business for the day to attend to. Remus never told me he was a werewolf, I just had to wait until I actually saw him change. It was hard for me to watch him in such a state, but it also made me feel stupid. The signs were in front of my face. I was the best Defence Against the Dark Arts student in years! Yet, I was blinded by his friendship. I made sure my wand was safe and sound in my pocket and made my way to Remus' office.

As I got closer and closer to seeing Remus for the first time after that disturbing truth surfaced, I was more nervous then ever before. I felt different this time. I guess I knew now that something dark lived in him that I never wanted to see, and I just wanted to deny it to myself. I reached Remus' office and walked in slowly. The man I thought was one of the warmest and brightest persons I knew, looked up from his desk and moaned.

He looked shabby. There were scars all over his face. His hair was a mess. He was a mess. As his eyes met mine, I felt more vulnerable then I ever did with him. Even the night he kissed me.

"Isabel" he breathed out.

"Hel-lo" I stammered. I felt so uncomfortable and scared around him. I needed to calm down if I was going to get through this. Remus stood up and walked over to me. He reached out for me but I stepped backwards, away from his touch.

"I'm - "

"If you're going to apologise, then save it" I said.

"I was going to tell you. That night when your father found out about us. But it wasn't the right time..."

"When was the right time going to be, Remus? When I magically decided that I was going to play a guessing game with you and my first question was whether you were a werewolf or not?"

"Isabel, I can understand how hard this must be to take..."

"You transformed in front of my eyes! I didn't have one clue who you were! Remus, I care tremendously about you. You breached my trust!"

"Don't tell me you didn't know. Don't tell me you didn't have one clue."

"I never had a suspicion about you. Do you know why? Because I trusted you! I thought that every single word coming out of your mouth would be true!" I shouted.

"What if I did love you back? What if I returned the feelings you had for me? Would you have told me?"

"I am not feeling up to all of this, Isabel. Can you come back another - "

"Answer me!" I yelled. Remus shook his head and leaned against a wall.

"I would of told you when the timing was right."

"For you or for me?" I enquired.

"For both of us." I leaned against the wall opposite to Remus and my head fell. I was getting nowhere. No solution was showing. It seemed to be a never ending contest against what I thought was right and what the rest of the world thought was right. The sad thing is - I almost always lost. I'm losing now, too. I can't get a peep of information or anything useful out of anyone! I sighed and shook my head.

"All I want is for people to be honest with me" I said. "I have never asked for anything more then that. I want the people around me to trust me so I can trust them in return. We can't go on if we have no belief in each other."

"This was so unfair on you" Remus said softly.

"You're the one that's the werewolf. Am I overreacting? I bet I'm making this all about me when it's not..."

"Isabel, no. You're not overreacting. You have a perfectly good reason to be angry with me and others. I didn't tell you and I hid secrets. You were hurt in this too..." I nodded, agreeing with what Remus was saying. I didn't want to move any closer to him. I was a little frightened. The only werewolf I ever dealt with was Greyback...and we all know how that ended. But Remus wasn't Greyback. Remus was loving, caring and warm. He had that smile that made your insides fill up with joy. The way he taught the students was like he actually cared, unlike other Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's I've had. There was still that niggling feeling, though. In the back of my mind, I knew I had to be cautious.

"Do you want to stay? I am making up some tea and I'm sure I'll have some chocolate somewhere. I can answer anything you ask me. No holding back." It was a tempting offer that Remus had put to the table, but I had to decline. I had to spend some time alone. At least for a little while. I had to get my head back on straight. I had to think about everything and come up with solutions for myself.

"I'm sorry, Remus" I said softly. "I can't. Now isn't the time. I just need to take some time out for myself to figure all of this out."

"I understand completely" Remus told me.

"We will talk again though, right? I need to know things..."

"Of course we will talk. It was cruel to leave you in the dark like that. When you feel up to it, you can talk to me and we can sort all of this out."

"Really?"

"Yes" Remus said, "really." I nodded and straightened up. I began leaving the room when Remus cleared this throat loudly. I turned around to face him slowly, so that my dark eyes just met his.

"Thank you" Remus said.

"I didn't do anything."

"You understood" Remus told me.

"I tried to." I pursed my lips, gave one nod and walked off quickly. I couldn't deal with anymore drama.

I made my way down the stairs to the dungeons and back into my office. Thank goodness I didn't have any visitors. I wanted to shut myself off to the world. I was confused. This was the time where I needed the life experience that I didn't have. My head was heavy, and the thoughts running through it were just making everything one hundred times worse. How was I going to get through something that I didn't even know how to control?

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter. I hope it was a decent aftermath to what happened last chapter.**

**Next chapter - Dumbledore assigns Isabel a very important task. Tonks and Bill return to take Isabel out for the night - but it doesn't end so well when she gets a little drunk...**


	28. Hammered

**A/N: Hello to everyone that is currently reading this. I hope you are enjoying the story thus far. There is still a very long way to go though! I was thinking not long ago at how I wish I could draw...because I'd be drawing Isabel for you guys to get more of an insight to what she looks like. It's annoying, actually. **

**Warning for this chapter - alcohol & a heap of it...and swearing. You don't like it - don't read it.**

_**Thanks to:**_

_**TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, LadyFateContemplatingDiaster, ThoughtVortex, Baseball4Jenni, WritersOfTheGods & FuryPosessed for your reviews.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter :(**

* * *

I woke up the next morning, not feeling any better then I did before. And it kinda sucked. I wanted to feel as if I was raring to go, and nothing would get in my way. I felt the complete opposite. I didn't want to wake. I didn't want to get out of bed. I wanted to stay in bed, in my own pool of self pity. However, not complying with my own wish, I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed. I needed to face the day ahead.

There was a knock at the door and Minerva walked in slowly.

"Hello dear" she said softly.

"Morning, Minerva."

"You look dreadful. I do not blame you though, dearie. Finding out that Remus is a werewolf must have taken it's toll on you" she told me. Something snapped inside of me and I turned to her.

"You knew?"

"Knew?"

"That Remus was a werewolf. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was not my place to tell, Isabel."

"So it turns out that everyone was lying to me. That's fantastic. There is absolutely no one I can trust."

"I am so very sorry, and I feel horrible for doing that to you, but life is unfair, and we find out things that we don't want to know. We must move on..." Minerva said. She was right, I could not sit in despair about everything that has happened. It'd only make the situation worse for me.

"Dumbledore wants to see you in his office" Minerva told me, half smiling and leaving my office swiftly. It was obvious that I had made her uncomfortable, and it was obvious that she had made me a little pissed off. Every minute just keeps getting better and better.

* * *

I made my way to Dumbledore's office, pondering what he would reveal to me. I wouldn't think he was firing me. He wasn't that cruel. I hoped it had nothing to do with Remus, because he really was the last person I wanted to be talking about right now. I walked into Dumbledore's office slowly and was greeted by Fawkes, his Phoenix. I gave the magical bird a pat before looking up to see Dumbledore standing there, watching me.

"Good morning, Miss Snape" he said in a voice so casual it was almost alarming. He dawdled down the stairs and sat in the chair behind his desk.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Considering I have practically just found out one of my best friends is a werewolf and that everyone lied to me about it - I'm fantastic." Dumbledore laughed under his breath at my apparent sarcasm.

"I am sorry that you had to find out that way. I told Remus earlier that he should have told you about the way he is."

"The annoying thing is," I started to say, sitting in the seat opposite the Headmaster, "is that no one had the guts to tell me. There I was - believing all the excuses coming out of Remus' and everyone else's mouth when Remus disappeared - and then I had to find out by seeing him transform in front of me."

"Life can be ruthless, Miss Snape. You just have to remain strong in the darker of times."

"You are wiser than me. You have more experience. That is why you say these things to me that I can't even imagine doing."

"I may be wise and have more experience - but you have the strength and bravery to face up to things, Miss Snape. I do not doubt you when it comes to these things."

"I am surprised that you don't" I scoffed. Dumbledore sighed and nodded slowly.

"I understand where you are coming from. There was once a time I did not understand things...but I got through it okay. And here we sit, talking here as equals."

Dumbledore and I sat there in silence for a while, taking in what we had both said to each other. He must think I am an idiot. All I do is complain, and I try not to. But I think I have had a tough time and I deserve to whine about a few things in my life. Dumbledore opened a drawer to his desk and took out a piece of parchment with writing on it.

"I am about to give you a very important task to handle, Miss Snape" Dumbledore said to me. Oh great, something else I can go and stuff up.

"Do you think it wise to be leaving me with something very important?" I asked Dumbledore, a sense of desperation showing.

"Miss Snape, you will do fine. You are an intelligent woman. You can do this. Do not doubt yourself. However, I must ask you not to reveal this task to your father. He wouldn't be very...pleased...about the task I am giving you."

"Well, by all means, reveal to me what this task requires me to do."

"I believe that you were in the Shrieking Shack the other night. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir. It is."

"And I believe you found out the truth about a certain individual that we all thought was guilty." I was surprised at where this was leading. All the signs were pointing to one man, and one man only.

"Sirius Black?" I gasped.

"That's right, Miss Snape. Sirius Black. He has been in Azkaban for many years, and he will have to remain in hiding...secrecy...whatever you would like to call it."

"And what have I got to do with Sirius Black?" I asked.

"Miss Snape, I am asking you to do me a favour. It will not be easy on you, but I know you can succeed. I need you to pay Sirius frequent visits, just so he can get back on his feet. You'll need to help him with many general things. Like gaining his strength back up and getting his appearance back on track." Dumbledore was right. Father wouldn't be happy if he found out. This job was intriguing. Andromeda had told me a lot about her cousin, and I would learn a lot about the Black family if I was to take up this task.

"Alright," I said, nodding, "I'll do it. It sounds...challenging."

"That's the spirit, Miss Snape! And Sirius can be good fun. He likes to joke around a little, but he is very kind hearted. He was also very handsome, too, before getting taken to Azkaban" Dumbledore, told me, raising his eyebrows. It sounded to me as if he was attempting to be a matchmaker.

"Excuse me?" Dumbledore smiled and pretended not to hear me. He passed me the piece of parchment.

"This has every detail you will need on it" he said. I looked down at the parchment and read it carefully.

_**Little Phoenix Cottage - Owned by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry **_

_**Has been given every amount of protection possible. Only four authorised people allowed access (apart from Sirius Black) - Professor Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Rubeus Hagrid & Professor Isabel Snape. **_

"Little Phoenix Cottage?"

"I bought it not long ago on behalf of the school...just incase anyone would need it on an occasion such as this" Dumbledore said.

"And there are only four people allowed in apart from Sirius? You, me, Remus and Hagrid?"

"That's right. Too many people visiting would cause whispers."

"I understand" I said, "I should be going." I stood up and put the piece of parchment up me sleeve. I turned on my heel and began walking out the door.

"Miss Snape, one more thing!" Dumbledore called out. I turned back to face the Headmaster.

"Yes?"

"Sirius likes to have a drink...if you know what I mean. Try and keep him away from it. That will lead to the best recovery."

"Of course, Professor" I said. I turned back to the door, again, and made my way out of the Headmaster's office and back to the dungeons. I was incredibly annoyed that I had classes to teach today, and even more annoyed that they would be alongside Remus. Thankfully it was Friday though, so I didn't have to put up with this shit tomorrow.

* * *

I walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts class to see all the students seated and Remus missing from the front of the classroom. As the door slammed, all the students turned to face me. It was a little embarrassing. I realised that this was my most favourite class of all - the class containing Harry, Ron, Hermione...and even better than that...Pansy Parkinson. I hated one fact about this class though, I felt guilty every time I turned to Draco, and every time I looked at him, he glared at me back.

"Good morning, class" I said, putting on a fake smile. I saw Hermione looking at me with concern all over her face.

"Good morning, Professor Snape" they all replied, unenthusiastically. Since Remus was not here, I guess I would have to take the class on my own.

"Attendance" I said, taking out a piece of parchment from the desk behind me.

* * *

The rest of the lesson was easy. It was just preparing for their final tests, really. Hermione was doing extremely well, as was Harry, amazingly, considering the circumstances. Draco was also doing well, but he was a bright kid. Bright, meaning academically. Ron was struggling a little, as was Neville. But I could still not get over Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. It was astonishing how dumb they could be. They were supposed to be in Slytherin for god's sakes. So much for achieving things...

* * *

After a long, hard days work, I strolled down the stairs towards my office. I had a feeling that everything was about to change. All that I knew was about to be different. I didn't know why I felt that way. I just did. As I strolled into my office, I practically collapsed into one of my armchairs. I took out my wand and flicked it so a bottle of wine and a wine glass from the cabinet would make its way over to me. As I began pouring the red wine into my glass, a flash of green light appeared at my fireplace. I turned around quickly to see Bill and Tonks standing there, grinning.

"Merlin's beard! You gave me a terrible fright!" I exclaimed, holding my hand to my chest.

"Wow, Bill. We gave her a terrible fright" Tonks laughed.

"She's using proper words" Bill said, in a snobbish voice. I stood up and hugged them both. I could tell I was beaming. I had missed them both so much.

"How are you?" I asked them.

"Fine" Bill said, shrugging.

"How did you even get in here?" I enquired, raising my eyebrows.

"Dumbledore sent me a message..." Tonks started to say. It seemed every time I was pissed off or sad, Dumbledore arranged for somebody to cheer me up.

"So, Tonks, you can do the honours by revealing to our friend Isabel what is going to happen tonight" Bill said.

"Pleasure" Tonks said, grinning. "We're going out."

"Excuse me?" I said, dumbfounded.

"I said, we're going out. Meaning Me, Bill and You!"

"Uh, no. I am a teacher, I have responsibilities here" I told them both, sternly.

"Dumbledore said it would be good for you!" Tonks exclaimed.

"Please!" Bill pleaded, taking my hands and smiling cheekily. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I wasn't going to win. Not with these two.

"Fine" I said, giving up.

"YES!" Tonks and Bill shouted in unison.

"Are you going to get changed?" Tonks asked.

"Er - no? What's wrong with wearing this?" I asked, looking down at my dress and blazer.

"Nothing, just a little boring, that's all" she replied.

"Well I'm sorry that I'm not dressed to your liking. Where are we going, exactly?"

"The Hippogriff's Chamber. Some new pub in Diagon Alley" Bill told me. Tonks and Bill stepped towards fireplace as I put my wand safely in my pocket.

"I'm only young..." I groaned, "I don't wanna do this!"

"Too bad!" Tonks called, pulling me towards the fireplace. Bill took some floo powder and threw it into the fire.

"Diagon Alley" he said clearly. Green flames erupted and the three of us stepped into the fireplace.

* * *

We arrived at Diagon Alley, much to my dismay. I knew tonight was either going to end up as excellent - or drastically horrible. I was hoping it wasn't the latter. Bill linked arms with Tonks and I and laughed.

"You're like the sisters I never had" he said.

"You have a sister, Bill. Ginny?" Tonks giggled.

"I know...but you two are like my sisters."

"How sweet" I said, smiling.

"She smiled! We're on our way!" Tonks exclaimed. Bill led us into a lovely looking pub. It wasn't like the Leaky Cauldron, the Hogs Head or the Three Broomsticks. It was kind of warm. Bill and Tonks practically pulled me over to the the bar and sat me down on a stool.

"What will it be?" The bartender asked the three of us, a smile on his face. The smile grew bigger when he saw me. I had that affect on men - my veela heritage and all. It has half flattering, half creepy.

"Firewhisky, thanks" Bill said.

"Same" Tonks told the bartender.

"And for you, my dear?" The bartender asked me.

"Butterbeer" I said, ignoring the special attention he was paying me.

"No!" Tonks shouted. "Get her a firewhisky."

"Will do" The bartender said to Tonks, giving one nod and retreating to get our drinks. Great, alcohol. The best thing for me right now...

"Tonks, why did you do that?" I asked sternly.

"I am not one of your students, Isabel. And you need to loosen up, that's why I got you firewhisky. You're way too tense."

"I have to agree with Tonks on this one" Bill said, his hand pointing in my direction. The bartender walked back up with three glasses of firewhisky.

"Enjoy" he said to the three of us, sneaking in a little wink at me. I flicked my hair to brush him off - as if to say he had no chance. He gave a little grunt and walked away.

"Cheers!" Tonks roared, clinking my glass, then Bill's. At the same time, the three of us downed half a glass of firewhisky. Tonks and Bill stopped, but I continued to drink mine until it was all gone.

"Ugh. This is not going to end very well" I muttered.

"Bartender!" Tonks called out. The bartender made his way over to us and looked at my empty glass.

"That was quick" he said. "Another?" Tonks grinned and nodded, and the bartender went to fill the glass.

"I am going to kill you two" I told them both. I already felt a little tipsy. Firewhisky didn't go down well with me. Wine did, but firewhisky - no way. The bartender came back with a full glass and looked at me.

"You've had a rough time?"

"You could say that" I said. I picked up the glass and knocked the Firewhisky back in no time. Tonks and Bill watched, their eyes filled with amazement. Like I said...this wasn't going to end well.

* * *

I had knocked back five glasses of Firewhisky now. Bill and Tonks had just the two. Bill had decided he was only going for three, as someone needed to make sure we got back safely. I was pretty much drunk, not that I cared. I couldn't give a shit about anything right now. I mean, if Remus walked into the bar, I'd walk up to him and tell him to go fuck off because I wasn't in the mood for his lies. And that's not like me. But it's what alcohol does to me. It makes me not give a shit. The bartender came back with another round of Firewhisky for the three of us.

"Last one" Bill said, beginning to drink his. Tonks and I guzzled ours down within a matter of seconds. My hand rested below my chin and I was getting more and more out of control by the second.

"Life is shit" I told Bill and Tonks.

"How so?" Bill asked.

"The people you think give a stuff about you keep everything from you and then when you find out everything, all they can do is apologise. I wonder if they know that I am fucking irritated at them?"

"We care" Tonks said, the drunkenness starting to show on her.

"I know you two care. You know why - because you two are the best fucking friends I could have asked for. You two are just fucking awesome" I slurred. "And Charlie. He's fucking awesome too." Tonks laughed and hi-fived me.

"Damn freaking right!" She practically screamed. We sat there in silence for a moment, before I decided to speak up again, not really knowing what I was about to say.

"You know what the annoying thing was? He didn't care if I found out. I mean, he fucking kissed me! And he told me he loved me. And I didn't love him back. But he could of told me. What an asshole."

"Who kissed you?" Bill asked.

"A fucking jackass, that's who" I told Bill. Tonks laughed and hi-fived me again.

"Will you talk to him again?" Tonks asked me.

"I don't know. Maybe. You know what?" I said as I picked up the full glass that the bartender just presented me with, "let's not talk about this shit tonight. Let's get hammered."

"YEAH!" Tonks shouted, raising her glass in the air. She put the glass to her lips and away the firewhisky went. It was amazing how quickly Tonks and I could drink. I never knew I could drink like this, but the evidence was here. I had just downed six glasses of firewhisky like it was nothing.

* * *

It was half an hour later, and Tonks had caught up to me. We had both had about eight glasses of firewhisky each. A _Weird Sisters _song came over the radio. Tonks and I both stood up and screamed.

"I love this song!" We yelled. As the song belted out of the speakers, Tonks and I danced. I was a drunk that didn't give a shit - and I was loving every moment of it. The bartender presented us with our ninth glass of Firewhisky. I guzzled it down and kept dancing, not having a care in the world for anything. Tonks and I whirled around the room and Bill just sat there, laughing.

As the song stopped, Tonks and I sat back down in our seats and giggled.

"Was that fun?" Bill asked.

"Merlin's beard, Isabel. You can dance!" Tonks said, ignoring Bill's question.

"We're drunk" I told Tonks, "I can't dance. Never been able to. And yes, Bill, it was fun. You should join us next time."

"Sorry, but there is no way I am dancing" Bill said. I raised my eyebrows and pulled Bill off his seat. I began to spin myself around him as I laughed.

"I can't dance" Bill told me.

"Neither can I!" Bill shrugged and began dancing, too. He twirled me around and around. I thought I was going to be sick. I was enjoying every minute of it. Tonks sat in her stool and clapped around, beaming.

"You can dance" I mumbled into Bill's ear.

"You're drunk. I can't dance. Never been able to" Bill replied, grinning. I roared with laughter and fell back onto the stool. As Tonks stood up and walked over to Bill to dance with him, the bartender walked out from behind the bar and leaned on the bar next to me. He was in his mid-twenties I would say. He was nice looking, but he wasn't that great.

"What's your name?" He asked me.

"Isabel" I replied. I could see Bill watching on with great interest as Tonks danced around him, not realising anything.

"That's a very pretty name" he told me, grinning.

"Thank you" I slurred.

"Then again...so are you."

"Is that some sort of pick up line?" I asked, resisting the urge to burst out with laughter.

"If you want it to be" he replied.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, you're not my type and I am so drunk that I'm not making good decisions at the moment" I giggled. I burped a little, which was a little disgusting. But I didn't care - because I was drunk.

"Come on...I live not far away..." he practically begged. I shook my head and just sat there smiling. He grabbed a hold of my hand and pulled me close to him.

"Come on. You'd like it there." Bill pushed Tonks away and walked over to him. He seized hold of me and held me close.

"She said no" Bill snapped.

"What is she, ginger, your girlfriend?" The bartender asked. Bill looked down at me with apologetic eyes and then looked back towards the bartender.

"What if she is? Back off or you'll regret it, mate." The bartender glared at Bill before retreating to behind the bar. Bill hugged me tightly for a moment before kissing me on the head.

"You're like my sister. No one hurts you." He felt warm, and safe. Bill was like my brother, too. My big brother that would protect me no matter what.

"Let's get you two back. You've both had quite enough for one night." Bill walked and grabbed Tonks by the arm. He pulled us towards the door, but before we left, Tonks turned around and waved.

"Goodnight!" She shouted to the people in the bar. Bill pulled her out and we were back in the middle of Diagon Alley once more.

* * *

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, teach us something please!" Tonks and I sang as we skipped down Diagon Alley, Bill following us closely.

"I love you Tonks" I screamed out.

"I love you Isabel!" She yelled back.

"I love you Bill!" We both shouted in unison. I could hear Bill's laughter coming from behind me. We stopped so Bill could catch up to us, and as I looked over towards a restaurant, I could see a tall, pale, blond man.

"Fuck!" I whispered.

"What?" Tonks whispered back, giggling.

"See that dude over there - that's Lucius Malfoy. I teach his son, remember. And I've met the guy...before. Hide me." Tonks and Bill nodded once and made a kind of guard around me. As we walked past the restaurant, I could see Lucius turned to face Tonks and Bill. Tonks just giggled at the sight of him.

"Good evening, sir" Bill said as we kept walking. We passed without him noticing me. When we were out of his sight, Tonks turned to me.

"That guy is more gay then rainbows and unicorns" Tonks laughed.

We arrived back at the fireplace and Bill threw the floo powder into the fireplace.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - Isabel Snape's office." The green flames appeared and the three of us stepped into the fireplace. Two drunks and one half sober guy...what a graceful way to enter a school...a school that I teach at.

* * *

We arrived back in my office. I was kinda embarrassed to sat the least. I mean - I was drunk. Really, really drunk. I was clinging onto Bill as I laughed and sang _Weird Sisters _songs with Tonks. Bill pulled out pajamas from my drawer and helped me change into them. He knew that he didn't like me in that way - which was why he was so comfortable doing it. But he kept my underwear on, thank god. That would of made our friendship awkward. He set me down in my bed and and sat on the edge, stroking my hair.

"Merlin's beard, you are an awful drunk" Bill told me, laughing. Tonks was sitting in one of the armchairs, counting the number of books on my shelf and giggling every time she said an odd number.

"Will you sing me a lullaby?" I asked softly as I touched Bill's cheek.

"Isabel, you're eighteen, not five." I pouted and turned away. Bill sighed and kissed me on the head.

"Sweet dreams" he said. He walked over to the armchair, helped Tonks up and as soon as I knew it, they were gone. As silence crept over my office, I fell asleep quickly, my head starting to hurt. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

**A/N: I just love drunk Isabel and drunk Tonks. I was going to have drunk Bill, but I thought he'd better stay kind of sober...**

**Next chapter - the end of the school year! Remus tells Isabel he's resigning & Severus finds out about Isabel's big night with Tonks and Bill. He's not happy. And she goes and visits Sirius for the first time. **


	29. Sirius

**A/N: I am so sorry for the wait that you have had to endure for this chapter. I sincerely apologise to you all. My laptop is in for repairs and had the next five chapters on it, so I have to rewrite them all! But, I guess there is a positive to come out of this. I can make this chapter bigger and better than it was before.**

**Ever since last weekend I have been sleeping restlessly because I felt as if I needed to get this chapter to you. So, last night, I went to bed at 8:30 and four hours later, this chapter was finished.**

**Did everyone see Pottermore & The final trailer for Deathly Hallows Part 2! How amazing!**

**I need to make one thing clear, Isabel's office has two doors from the corridor. One is her private quarters (where she sleeps, get's dressed etc.) and her actual office. Just letting you know.**

_**Thanks to:**_

_**LadyFateContemplatingDiaster, ThoughtVortex, FuryPosessed, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, Writersofthegods & Alya_Kihaku for your reviews of chapter 28.**_

_**Thanks to:**_

_**LadyFateContempatingDiaster, zannet88, death_wish_girl, Night-Storms, hermywonwon23 & TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle for your reviews/ideas/sympathy for my authors note.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter :(**

* * *

I woke up the next morning to a very, very sore head. I sat up and held my head in my hands. God, this is what a hangover feels like. Tonks, I bloody hate you right now. I got out of bed and tried to stand up straight, but I ended up losing my balance. After five minutes, I was standing up properly and getting dressed. I heard a knock at the door.

"Shit" I whispered to myself. There was another knock, but it was louder this time.

"Just a moment!" I called out. I quickly finished getting dressed and grabbed my wand. I quickly flicked my wand to fix my hair and makeup. I hope that my hangover didn't look to obvious to the person behind the door. I pointed my wand towards the door so it would open. As the door opened slowly, in walked a small house elf.

"Good morning, Miss Isabel!"

"Morning, Dobby."

"Dobby thought that Miss would need some company this morning."

"That's very nice of you, Dobby, thank you." I stood up and led Dobby out of my private quarters and into my office. I sat down in my chair behind my desk as Dobby sat on my desk.

"What is wrong, Miss Isabel?"

"What do you mean, Dobby?" I asked.

"Dobby knows when something is wrong."

"Right. Er - do you know that drink that makes people feel...a little different?"

"Dobby knows the one, Miss Isabel! Is it the drink that makes Dobby feel funny after a few of them and the next morning gives Dobby a headache?"

"Yes, that's the one. Well, I have the headache that you get the next morning."

"Miss Isabel, that drink is not good for you!"

"I realise that now" I said, putting my head in my hands.

"I guess Miss Isabel has a reason to drink it though. I'd be sad if my friend was leaving Hogwarts, too." My head snapped up, and my eyes grew wider. What?

"What did you say, Dobby?"

"Did Miss Isabel not hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Master Lupin has resigned from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Oh my god. No. No, no, no, no, no. I stood up and tucked my wand into my pocket.

"Dobby, I have to go see Remus."

"Of course. Good luck, Miss Isabel."

"Thank you, Dobby!" I called out, already halfway out the door.

* * *

I ran up the stairs out of the dungeon and through the corridors of Hogwarts as fast as I could. Why would Remus resign? He was the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher I had ever seen step foot in this school! Before I knew it, I was standing outside Remus' office. It was like I had apparated there instead of running, but I guess that's how desperate I was. I walked in to hear music playing and hear the sounds of trunks being packed.

"Hello, Isabel" Remus said, turning to face me.

"How did you know I was coming?" I asked. Remus pointed his wand towards the Marauders Map.

"You are a very fast runner" Remus said, smiling. I looked around at all the boxes that were packed. The office looked bare. It made me feel so sad. So upset. Remus sighed and walked over to me.

"I didn't mean for you to find out like this. I was going to tell you."

"When? What were you going to do? Leave me a note the day you were leaving? Send McGonagall to tell me?"

"I understand why you are upset."

"Upset? Upset? Look at me, Remus, I am a mess! The only good thing about this year has been you. I've had all this Lucius shit and it's breaking me down, bit by bit. I need you here so you can help put me back together again."

"I'm afraid it's not my decision, Isabel. Parents don't want a werewolf teaching their children."

"They can all go and jump off a cliff for all I care! Dumbledore wants you here...and I need you!" Remus laughed and wrapped his arms around me.

"You don't need me. You only think you need me. The truth is, I need you a lot more then you need me. But we'll be strong together and move on. And you can visit me anytime you like. Well, except for full moons." Remus let go of his hug and smiled warmly.

"I heard that you were one of the people assigned to see Sirius?"

"Yes, I was" I said.

"Don't let his sense of humor get to you. He's a little cruel like that. And if he asks you about us, threaten him. He seems to have this idea in his head ever since he saw me hug you in the Shrieking Shack that we are together. Just pull out your wand and he'll back off." I smiled and nodded.

"Who's going to replace you?" I asked.

"Not too sure, yet. Someone will. Who knows, it might be you."

"It won't be me. I'm not good enough yet."

"Don't be stupid, Isabel. You are a wonderful teacher. It makes me smile to see you teach. You are one of the best teachers at this school and you are only an assistant. It comes naturally to you."

"Stop flattering me" I said, waving my hand.

"I'm telling the truth!" Remus and I laughed and then went silent, as if we were taking in each other's presence for the last time. I knew it wasn't the last time. He knew it, too. I was going to visit him constantly. I hope that doesn't annoy him.

"Do you know anything to cure hangovers?" I asked. Remus looked at me and tried not to laugh.

"Don't tell me you, you of all people, have a hangover."

"Unfortunately for me, yes I do."

"Drink lots of water. Thats all I've got" Remus replied.

"Damn. I better get going. Leave you to your packing."

"Alright" Remus said. He put his arms around me one more time, and I hugged him back tightly.

"I'm going to miss seeing your lovely face everyday" Remus said softly.

"Me too" I replied. I felt Remus' face turn towards the doorway, and he quickly let go of me.

"Harry! Hello, how are you?"

"Good morning...Professors." I turned to Remus and smiled.

"I'll see you around."

"Yes, of course. Goodbye, Isabel."

"Bye, Remus. Bye, Harry" I said, leaving the room. That was a little embarrassing. Now that Harry saw that, he was going to go and tell Hermione, and even worse, Ron. Ron was going to blab it to his mother and I'd be roped into telling Molly everything.

* * *

As I started walking down the stairs, I could hear Harry talking to Remus.

"What was that about?" Harry asked.

"What was what about, Harry?"

"You hugging Isabel."

"Shouldn't you be calling her Professor Snape?"

"She tells me to call her Isabel. We're friends. Answer my question."

"Isabel and I are friends too."

"Do you really expect me to believe that you being friends is all there is. I see the way you two act around each other. I saw the way she was terrified and also hurt when you turned into a werewolf. And I just saw that."

"Harry, we're just friends."

"How do you feel about her?"

"Harry, I am not going to answer to a fourteen year old boy!"

"Do you love her?" I gasped and then covered my mouth, hoping that they both didn't hear. I left as quickly as I possibly could without making any noise. I really did not want to hear the end to that question.

* * *

As I was walking through the corridors, I spotted my father at the other end. Crap, he'd know that I was drinking last night. Even if he didn't see it, he'd know. I turned around to try and get away as fast as possible without him catching me.

"Isabel!" He called. I stopped and turned around to see him standing there, looking down at me suspiciously.

"What is your hurry?"

"I - er - have to go see Minerva."

"You are a terrible liar, Isabel." Father looked around and then looked back at me. The suspicious look came back on his face and he grabbed my arm.

"Were you drinking this morning?" He spat.

"No, of course not, don't be ridiculous!"

"Last night? Actually, I did hear some very loud noises coming from your quarters last night."

"You were hearing things then."

"Don't lie to me, Isabel Victorie Snape. Don't you dare lie to me."

"Gee, when people lie to you, you can't handle it but you can lie to other people easily. Like me. Remember?"

"Oh, Isabel, don't act like a child."

"No! I am an adult and it does not concern you if I was drinking or not. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do!" I stormed off and shook my head. He made me so angry!

* * *

It was finally the end of the school year. It was the closing feast and the house cup had been awarded. The kids had noticed the absence of the person who usually sat next to me. His place was taken by Minerva, who had decided she wanted to keep me company. She was very thoughtful like that. Dumbledore had made his speeches and the feast had just finished. The students were starting to leave the hall, but there were a few I needed to say goodbye to. I left the teachers table to walk to the group of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Percy, Wood, Fred and George who were all waiting for me.

"Hey guys" I said, greeting them all, "glad the school year is over?"

"Blimey, Isabel, I'm a bit more then glad!" Ron exclaimed. I laughed and shook my head. So typical of Ron to say that.

"Ronald, don't be stupid. You love it here" Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"You going to come and visit in the summer, Isabel?" George asked.

"Yeah, Mum'd kill you if you didn't come and visit within the first week. She'd probably hunt you down, tie you up and physically bring you over" Fred told me. I laughed and nodded.

"I will definitely come to see you all. Tell your mother not to worry."

"I'll tell her. These two will make up some stupid story" Ginny said.

"Thanks Ginny." I looked over at Wood and smiled.

"Congratulations, Mr. Wood" I said. He beamed and gave me a huge hug that I wasn't expecting. He spun me around once then let me go.

"I am so, so happy. All my education here and all I wanted was that bloody cup, and finally I won it! Determination is all it takes though, Isabel."

"I'm happy for you, Oliver. All this year I wasn't going for Slytherin. Actually, all my years I've gone for Gryffindor instead of Slytherin." I turned to Percy, who was looking a little sad.

"What's the matter, Perce?" I asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What's it going to be like? Life after this. What if I don't make it, Isabel? What if I fail at everything?"

"Percy Weasley, don't think for one second that you'll fail. Everything will be fine. You are good at everything you do and if people can't see that it's their loss."

"Thank you, Isabel."

"Anytime, Perce. Good luck."

"Anyway, we better get going. Come on" Ron said. They all started leaving, except Harry. I knew what this conversation was going to be about.

"I'll come in a second" Harry told Ron and Hermione. The two of them nodded and left with Wood, Percy, Ginny, Fred and George.

"So, you heard about Professor Lupin leaving?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I did. Heard it from Dobby actually."

"Dobby, what's he - "

"Don't ask, Harry." Harry nodded and then sighed. He seemed to be afraid to bring up the topic.

"What's going on between you and Professor Lupin?" Harry asked.

"Nothing."

"But you two were hugging."

"We're friends and I don't want to see him go."

"Do you love him."

"No, Harry, I don't. This is really uncomfortable for me to talk about."

"Sorry, I'm just curious."

"I know you are, but some things like this just need to be left for me and Lupin to work out." Harry nodded and smiled.

"See you next year, Isabel." I have Harry a small hug.

"See you next year, Harry." I let go and Harry walked out of the Great Hall. Before I left the Great Hall myself, I could here someone muttering behind me. I turned to see Draco arguing with himself about whether he should talk to me or not. When his eyes met mine, he was mortified. He quickly teared his eye contact away from mine and left the Great Hall. I sighed at my lost friend. I missed him.

* * *

I was back at Spinner's End for another summer. The rain, unfortunately, was pelting down outside and there was nothing I could do except unpack, practice spells and read. It was so dull around here. I contemplated going to the Weasley's house, but I was going to avoid there for a while, just incase Harry went and told Ron about Remus and I. It then dawned on me that I was given a task by Dumbledore, and I haven't done a thing for it yet. I quickly stood up and made my way down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Father called out from his study.

"Out" I replied, opening the door and shutting it quickly before he could stop me.

* * *

I had arrived on the doorstep of Little Phoenix Cottage. It wasn't a five star hotel, but it was a thousand times better than Azkaban. I wondered how this was going to work, seeing as only authorised people were allowed in the cottage. I looked at the door for some kind of sign and realised there was a small hole. I took out my wand and stuck it in the small hole. The door made some type of weird noise and opened slowly. How did Dumbledore come up with this stuff?

I walked in the cottage to hear silence. I thought that I'd hear loud music and someone dancing on a table. That's how I imagined Sirius to be by the descriptions I'd been given of him in his earlier years. I made my way into a small room with a fireplace, shelves filled with books, three armchairs and a brown wooden table. In one of the armchairs, sat a much more lively looking Sirius Black. His hair and eyes had colour, his teeth weren't yellow and disgusting, his skin wasn't waxy, and he was wearing nice looking clothes. He actually didn't look too bad...

"Enjoying the view?" Sirius said, snapping me back to reality. I coughed and brushed two strands of hair out of my face.

"I was actually admiring your courage to come back from looking like a dead person. How long did it take you?"

"Didn't take me long, but of course I can't say the same for others. And don't try and deny the fact that you were checking me out. I know an interested girl when I see one" Black said, a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"You're truly hilarious. What makes you think that someone like me would be interested in someone like you?" I asked, amused. I can't believe Black thought that I was checking him out. How dare he think my standards are that low.

"I don't have to think that someone like you would be interested in me, I know that you are. That's why you didn't take me to the dementors or just kill me that night in the Shrieking Shack."

"No, Black, as much as you like to think that, I was doing it for Harry's sake."

"You know Harry?"

"I'm friends with Harry. He's an amazing boy. His talents aren't only amazing, his courage and bravery is too." Sirius stopped looking at me in the way he had before, and an expression of curiosity filled his face.

"Who are you, may I ask? I know you were there with Snape that night at the Shrieking Shack."

"Professor..."

"Whoa, wait. You, a professor? You're a bit young aren't you? What's your name?" God, so many questions. He might wanna shut up before I shut him up for him.

"Isabel. And I am Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts."

"Well that doesn't really explain what you were doing with Snape that night." Sirius crossed his arms and sat back, waiting for an answer. He was not going to like what I was going to tell him. I checked that my wand was in my pocket, just in case. I had no idea what Black was really like.

"Come on, tell me" Sirius whined. I cleared my throat and sat down in the chair opposite Sirius.

"My last name is Snape" I said plainly. Sirius' eyes darted around the floor, like he didn't understand what I had just said. Black's eyes then went wide, and his mouth suddenly hang agape.

"You're a Snape! Please don't tell me he had a kid..." Sirius banged his fist on his head and shook his head, like he had gone into shock.

"Here I am" I replied, grinning. I was enjoying his reaction.

"Who in the hell would want to have a kid with...with...that! He's a greasy haired, ugly idiot and he doesn't deserve anything, apart from pain." I was highly offended by what Sirius had said, and I took out my wand. I flicked it, so that Sirius would feel like a slap across the face.

"Ouch! What the hell!" Sirius yelled, bringing his hand to his cheek.

"Don't insult my father, got it? Otherwise you'll get a lot worse then that."

"God, why did bloody Dumbledore send you. A Snape! Merlin's beard...that man must be getting old if he thinks sending a Snape to help me would be a good idea."

"What makes you think that I am anything like my father?" I asked. Sirius looked at me up and down and nodded at a few things, as if he didn't know he was doing it. I rolled my eyes and sat back in my chair.

"You have jet black hair, like his, damn, yours isn't greasy. I could of teased you about that! Your eyes are dark, like his. Your skin is pale, like his..."

"Personality wise, Black."

"You're a know it all."

"Right, and you've learned that from being with me for ten minutes. You must become the new Divination teacher at Hogwarts."

"You're real funny, Snape."

"So you're going to call me by my last name now. How considerate of you."

"What can I say? I'm a considerate guy."

I scoffed, "oh, yeah. Amazingly considerate. You're so considerate that you are upset about me not having greasy hair." Black smirked at nodded.

"I know."

"Right, well you know then not to get on the bad side of me..." I said, raising an eyebrow.

"And why wouldn't I want to do that, _Professor _Snape?" Sirius grinned and I smiled back, as if what I was about to say wasn't that important at all.

"Because I am a lovely young girl, teaching young witches and wizards how to control their magic and act as good, young citizens in the wizarding world and you are running from the Ministry of Magic as you have broken out of Azkaban after being convicted of murder."

"I've never murdered anyone!" Sirius shouted.

"Yes, but you were still convicted" I replied calmly, still smiling. Sirius frowned and hit his fist on the arm of his chair.

"Damn..."

"How's it feel not to have the upper hand, Black?"

"Don't rub it in, Snape." I clasped my hands and leaned on them. Sirius was sitting back in his chair pouting like a six year old child. We sat in silence for a while. If Black wanted to talk, he'd talk. But I wasn't going to make an effort with him if he was going to find some way to tease me.

* * *

After a while, Sirius had stopped pouting. He sat forward and looked at me, as if he were studying me.

"You were definitely there that night at the Shrieking Shack?" He asked for the one hundredth time.

"Yes, I was, as I've told you one hundred times" I replied, nodding.

"And you saw Moony...Remus...transform for the first time, I presume?" I flinched, remembering the moment the full moon came out from behind the clouds. Remus, the warm, caring man that I knew changed into a terrifying werewolf right in front of my eyes.

"I did" I replied.

"What was it like?" I was surprised by his question. He was actually being genuine. No doubt he was going to make a joke out of this.

"It was scary."

"Are you two close?" Black enquired.

"Remus and I?" Sirius nodded and I nodded in return.

"I'd say we are."

"Are you his girlfriend?" He asked, a smirk appearing on his face. For goodness sakes! I am so over this question!

"No! I am not his girlfriend."

"You said you were close."

"We're close friends."

"Do you want to be his girlfriend?"

"Black, if you don't shut it, I swear I will hex you into next week."

"I reckon you two would make a good couple," Sirius said, ignoring my threat, "I mean, you and him would be that mysterious type of couple. You seem to like wearing black, if that fringe of yours grows a few centimeters longer you won't be able to see your eyes and he's got scars all over his face. Mysterious couple makes for interesting romance!"

"Listen to me, Black, Remus and I are not, I repeat, not dating! And we never will date! As much as he may want it..."

"So Moony likes you?"

"I would think he's already talked to you about this."

"Yeah, he has. He said he loved you - " At that moment, it was like I went into shock. My expression was one of pure surprise. He loved me. Remus loved me.

"Wait," Sirius said, "I thought...I thought you knew."

I shook my head to try and get me out of the state I was in, "he only said that he thought he loved me. He didn't confirm it."

"Well, then, this is a little awkward" Sirius said loudly, clapping his hands.

"I've got to go."

"Aw, so soon? I was having fun!"

"Goodbye, Sirius. Don't do anything stupid" I said, standing up and walking out of the room.

"I'll miss you, Snape! Come back soon!" Sirius screamed. I rolled my eyes as I flicked my wand to open the door to the cottage. I slammed the door behind me and quickly rested on it. I was flustered. I just wanted all of this Remus stuff to go away and leave me alone. I was over it.

* * *

**A/N: I hope that was worth the wait. I'll try and get the next chapter written and posted as fast as I can!**

**Next Chapter - A visit to the Malfoy Manor, except this time, Draco & Narcissa will be joining Isabel and Lucius. It'll be a little awkward for Draco! **


	30. Inconvenient

**A/N: Hi everyone. You know, sometimes re-writing chapters can be very beneficial. I believe the the re-written version of this chapter is a lot better than the original. ****I am suffering terrible writers block at the moment. I tried my hardest with this chapter, I really did.**

**Deathly Hallows Part 2 is getting closer! Is anyone else as excited as I am? **

_**Thanks to: ThoughtVortex, LadyFateContemplatingDiaster, Reader, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, death_wish_girl, hermywonwon23 and toneale'anncurtis **__**for your reviews of last chapter.**_

**Disclaimer: I think you all get the point. For the last 29 chapters I have continued to say that I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I was sitting at my window watching the rain pelt down outside, as I had nothing better to do. I had just returned from seeing that git, Sirius Black, and Father was furious. He lectured me about how I had to tell him the places I went for some reason. He got even more furious when I told him I was an adult, and adults are allowed to do what they want. I was't the best at handling arguments. My owl, Marieke, was perched on the window sill. Her big, yellow eyes were focused on me. She knew that I wasn't in a good mood. My head went back to a few hours ago when Black told me that Remus loved me. It made me feel a little guilty to know that Remus had deep feelings for me. I didn't know how I felt towards him. This confusion wasn't leaving me. I thought I had made it clear to myself that I didn't want this...I didn't want him. I just wanted to stop having these conflicted feelings. They were making me tired, and I couldn't handle it.

My boredom was growing by the second. I was over looking out the window, and I tried reading but that didn't do the job. I walked over to my bed, sat down and took out my wand. Just as I was to cast a spell, I heard a screech come from Marieke. I turned quickly to see an owl trying to get through my window. I opened the window and let the brown owl into my room. The owl dropped a letter onto my desk and then flew out again. Just as I went to close the window, another owl came through and dropped yet another letter on my desk. I picked up the first letter that was dropped and looked at it curiously. I had never seen this persons writing before. I opened it and sat at my desk.

**My Dear Professor Isabel Snape,**

**As I never leave Hogwarts, I sometimes become quite bored when the children are off on their holidays. However, I was thinking the other day of you, and something popped into my head. It was very curious, as I have never seen your mind and aura as one that was open for me to read. I heard a prophecy about you.**

**I shall not tell you, as it could destroy your future.**

**I hope that guides you on your journey, my dear.**

**Professor Trelawney**

I had always hated Professor Trelawney. I never trusted her predictions or any of that crap that she always went on about, but this one interested me. Why did she think of me? Why did she hear a prophecy about me? It was all terribly confusing. I looked over at the other letter and opened it as quickly as possible.

**Dear Isabel,**

**I cordially invite you to share a meal with Narcissa, Draco and myself tonight. Normal time, normal place. **

**Don't forget to wear the coat, or Narcissa will be on your back all night about it.**

**Lucius.**

Ah, dinner at the Malfoy Manor. Something that I have experienced all too much. But Narcissa and Draco were going to be there. I wondered why, as these two were never around while I went to visit Lucius. I was still somewhat frightened by Lucius, but I was beginning to think I was wrong about him. Maybe he wasn't so bad. Maybe I was just being stupid about not trusting him. And it was obvious Draco had not blabbed yet about the way I treated him through the school year. It was going to be a little awkward for the both of us, though. If he says anything to Narcissa or Lucius, I'll be screwed.

* * *

There was a knock at my door, and in came Father.

"Yes?" I asked, rudely. Maybe I wasn't treating him fairly, but if he wanted to fix his relationship with me, he'd only have to say the word.

"Unfortunately, you have a very loud visitor" he replied, his voice dull. I raised my eyebrows. I had a very loud visitor? I heard a thud from behind Father, and he rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me...Professor Snape." Father was pushed aside by a girl with bubblegum pink hair. Tonks.

"Wotcher!"

"Tonks!" I shouted, running over to her and wrapping my arms around her tightly.

"Miss Tonks, if you could be so kind as to be a little more quiet this time around."

"Of course, Professor Snape. Will do." Father gave a curt nod to Tonks, turned on his heel and quickly walked away.

"What on earth are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came to see your dad. I was going to ask if he had any ingredients for an extremely boring potion...why do you think I'm here? I'm here to see you, of course! Sometimes I wonder if you really are as stupid as you sound."

"Thanks" I replied, a little offended. Tonks looked over at my chair and saw the coat from the Malfoy's hanging over the back.

"Merlin's Beard!" She exclaimed, picking up the coat in her hands.

"This is bloody amazing. How on earth did you get it? It looks expensive..."

"It was a gift."

"From who?" Oh, shit. Answer, answer. I need an answer.

"Um, er - my mother. Her husband gives her money, as long as I don't go back there."

"He sounds like a git."

"He is."

"You should pay him a visit, Isabel. Threaten to hex him."

"I doubt he'll be scared of me."

"After you hex him, he will."

"I am not hexing him. My mother will just end up hating me."

"Your mother couldn't hate you, Isabel. I doubt my mother could ever hate me, even if I was the worst child on the face of this earth. I believe they call it 'unconditional love'. I reckon mum has that for me, otherwise she'd have killed me by now." Was Tonks right? Did all mothers have unconditional love? I doubt Andromeda's did, because I believe Druella Black hated her child after she went off with Ted.

"Can we stop talking about depressing things?" Tonks asked.

"How is it so depressing?" I replied.

"It just is, Snapie."

"Is it now, _Nymphadora_?" I said, smirking and emphasising the Nymphadora. Tonks scowled at me as her hair changed from bubblegum pink to red.

"Don't call me Nymphadora!"

"Don't call me Snapie!" I replied, mimicking her scowl and tone of her voice.

"Snapie, Snapie, Snapie, Snapie!"

"Nymphadora, Nymphadora, Nymphadora!"

"Oh, alright, fine, you win!" I smiled and clapped my hands together, happy with my victory. Tonks' face suddenly changed, and she looked at me with interest.

"That night at the Hippogriff's Chamber...please tell me you remember it..." Tonks said.

"Amazingly, yes, I remember it. Even if I was absolutely hammered."

"You said something to Bill and I. You said someone kissed you." Oh no. I didn't want to tell Tonks everything.

"Yes, and then it went something along the lines of 'a fucking jackass'. Am I correct?" Tonks giggled and nodded.

"Yeah, that's about right. What I was wondering was...who kissed you?"

"Tonks, I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, come on! I am your best friend! If you can't come to me about it, who can you go to about it?"

"Like I said, I don't want to talk about it, so I won't go to anyone about it. Please, Tonks." Tonks sighed and lowered her head in defeat.

"Fine. But I will want to know one day. Promise me you'll tell me one day."

"Yes, I'll tell you one day."

"Fantastic. How about now?"

"Don't push your luck, Tonks."

"Who said I am pushing my luck?"

"Me."

"Alright, alright. Don't get all 'professor' on me."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Watch your tone, young lady. Those words will not be tolerated" Tonks said in a very stern voice. As she watched my expression of pure horror, she cracked up laughing.

"I am not like that!"

"You totally are, Isabel."

"You've never seen me teach."

"True, but then again, maybe I never want to." I rolled my eyes at her immaturity. How did I ever become friends with someone like Tonks? At the age of eight I had the maturity of a fifteen year old. I had to. Fleur, who was six, needed my help with every aspect of growing up. My mother was never there, as she had a job, and neither was my step-father.

"You alright?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah, fine. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Stuff."

"And you can't let your best friend know? What is the world coming to nowadays?" Tonks said, seemingly to herself. I felt like every time I lied to Tonks about something, I strained our relationship. I should be telling her these things, but I can't. I'm too scared. Too scared that something bad will happen and I will be the one paying for it in the end.

"I can go, if you'd like me to" Tonks said.

"No, no, stay. I'm just in a bad mood."

"I can cheer you up."

"I bet you can, Tonks." Tonks' lips curled up into a smile and her nose and mouth suddenly changed into a duck-like beak. I burst out in laughter at my best friend. The beak then changed to many things, like a pig snout, a horse's nose and mouth and many different animals. It was hilarious.

"You know, people always say to me all the time, if you can change your appearance at will, why don't you make yourself prettier?"

"Tonks, you are gorgeous."

"Not as gorgeous as you. All the guys at Hogwarts liked you. Whenever I was with you, no one had their attention on me...it was always you. You're the pretty one. You've got this amazing straight, jet black hair that people would die for. Your eyes are so dark that it makes them stand out. And your skin...don't get me started..."

"Tonks, don't be jealous of me. I only look good because of my veela heritage. I'm sorry if you felt that way, but seriously, I am nothing to get jealous about. You are beautiful, and I refuse to believe anyone who says otherwise." I smiled, and Tonks then smiled. She reached over and pulled me into a hug.

"You're the bestest best friend in the whole wide world, ya know that?"

"You're too kind" I replied, waving her away with my hand.

"You really are."

"And you are too."

"Sorry that I got you drunk, Isabel."

"Sorry that I always get all 'professor' on you." Tonks let go of me and looked at the time. She jumped off my bed.

"Merlin's beard! I have to go! Work and stuff..."

"Go, then. You have to do what you have to do. I understand."

"Thanks, Isabel. Mum wants to see you again soon, so come around again as soon as you can, alright?"

"I promise. See ya, Tonks."

"Bye, Snapie."

* * *

I arrived at the Malfoy Manor in Lucius' study once again. He was obviously anticipating me, as he was standing there as soon as I stepped out of the fireplace.

"Good evening, Isabel" Lucius said, bowing down, seizing my hand and kissing it softly.

"Good evening, Lucius" I replied. He scared me sometimes with how much of a gentleman he could be.

"Narcissa and Draco have been excited for this all night. Besides how often do you get to dine with someone like you?"

"You speak of me as if I am something special" I said as Lucius held out his arm. I took it slowly and we began to walk out of his study.

"Why are you saying such things? You are special" Lucius replied, not looking at me as we walked down the halls of the Malfoy Manor. I hated how Lucius thought I was worth more than I am. What have I done to deserve gifts and such from people? It was beyond me how people could spend money on me.

"Narcissa has been speaking of this all day. She has been quite excited. Draco has been a little quiet, though. Not uncharacteristic, but I thought he would be more...enthusiastic...that you would be joining us" Lucius said. Ah, Draco. My old friend. It only he didn't have to say those horrible things to me. I closed my eyes briefly to recall the words 'blood traitor'.

"Are you alright, Isabel? You seem a little off tonight."

"I'm fine. I have just been looking forward to this so much that it's starting to overpower me" I said, putting on a fake smile and laughing, trying to make it seem as real as I possibly could. Lucius laughed and shook his head.

"I am glad you've been looking forward to it. I enjoy spending time with you" Lucius said.

"Yes, me too" I replied, not knowing if I was telling the truth. Lucius looked down at me and smiled.

"You're wearing the coat."

"You asked me too."

"Yes, asked. Requested. You didn't have to wear it if you don't want to. However, it does look amazing on you."

"Thank you. And I wanted to wear it. It will please Narcissa to know that I am using it."

"You don't have to please Narcissa."

"But I want to."

Lucius laughed and patted my arm. "Isabel, you are a truly special character. You don't have to please everyone. There are some points in time where you can be selfish." Such a Lucius thing to say. I sometimes didn't have it in me. I hated spoiling myself, I hated that others never got the same things that I got. It wasn't fair. Like the Weasley's, for example. They didn't have half the things that I did, yet they were happy. They were not selfish.

"Lucius, I hate being selfish."

"Yes, but sometimes you are allowed to do what you want to do. Stop trying to please others all the time, Isabel. The only person getting hurt will be you."

"You like handing advice out to me, don't you?" I asked.

"I cannot say that it doesn't make me feel wise" Lucius replied, a small grin on his face.

* * *

I walked into the dining room with Lucius to see Narcissa and Draco both sitting at the table. Narcissa was smiling and standing, not noticing how protective Lucius was of me. I was gradually becoming more trusting of Lucius. He had been so good to me. Who was I to throw it right back in his face? I looked over at Draco, who seemed more pale than usual. His eyes were dull and he was definitely uncomfortable with me being here.

"Welcome to our home, Professor Snape" Narcissa said, a huge smile on her face.

"It's a pleasure to be here, Mrs. Malfoy" I replied, smiling and sounding polite as I possibly could.

"Oh, please, call me Narcissa."

"Well, then, you must call me Isabel."

"Of course" Narcissa said, the smile still on her face. She obviously didn't know that Lucius and I were spending quite a bit of time together. Clearly, not in that way...but if I were her, I'd feel a little...threatened. Narcissa turned to Draco and cleared her throat. He stood up unenthusiastically and gave a nod to me.

"I am pleased that you could join us tonight, Professor Snape" he said.

"Thank you, Draco. I am pleased to see you, too."

"Draco has been looking forward to seeing you all day, Isabel. I don't know what has gotten into him at the moment. He's been quite...well...quiet." Narcissa sat down next to her son, and I sat next to Lucius.

"I've just had a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Maybe we should stop with the - ah - depressing talk, hm? Isabel came here for a nice meal, she didn't come here to deal with our problems" Lucius said. I exhaled and sat more comfortably in my seat. I didn't want these questions all night. It would be too...inconvenient for me.

"You are completely right, Lucius. I am so sorry, Isabel. Sometimes I get very caught up when I speak" Narcissa laughed. I could definitely see Narcissa was _that_ type. The spoiled, rich type wife who cared for her family but no one else. Narcissa was a beautiful woman, that was for sure. She seemed to have this glow about her. She was radiant. If Lucius had her, why did he need me? _'Ah, you're working it out! Lucius likes you more than a friend...and you know why, Isabel? Your young, talented, smart and half veela. Men will fight over you.' _I wished my head had an off switch. But it was right, as always.

* * *

The first course was served soon after I arrived - a soup. Draco looked down at his soup distastefully, but Narcissa would have none of it. She told her son off as quietly as she could, and I caught something about guests in the house, and he must behave as a respectable pureblood should. I felt so sorry for Draco. I could now see first hand at the way Lucius and Narcissa shoved their opinions down Draco's throat.

"I am sorry for the way he is acting tonight, Isabel. He doesn't usually act as rude as he is being" Narcissa told me, giving one last warning glare at her son. Lucius didn't say a word. Would he save his 'lecture' for later? I was a little worried.

"It's fine, Narcissa. He's probably just had a bad day or something. Isn't that right, Draco?" I asked, turning to my former friend. Draco's cold eyes looked into mine, and for a second there I could see the Draco that I wanted back so desperately. The boy who was happy for me to be around, the boy who I wanted to mentor. The boy that was and is so very vulnerable.

"Yes. Just a bad day. I apologise...Mother...Father...Professor Snape..."

"Good boy" Narcissa said to her son, smiling. Lucius, however, still had a look of disappointment on his face.

"How do you like the soup?" Narcissa asked.

"It's lovely. Thank you" I replied.

* * *

Soon enough, we had all finished our soup. Not much conversation had gone on while we were eating, but I guess that relieved me more then anything. I didn't want to reveal any details that I wanted to keep to myself. I especially did not want to reveal anything about the visits I had been making to Lucius. The main course was served, and a heap of huge pots and platters filled with food appeared on the table.

"Wow, you should not have gone to all this trouble" I said, looking at the food on the table. The variety was truly amazing.

"Nonsense. You are worth the trouble" Lucius replied, giving me a small, reassuring smile. Narcissa looked between the two of us, and I coughed and Narcissa seemed to wave off what she had just saw.

"Lucius is right, you are worth the trouble. You've been teaching our Draco, and his marks are still up quite high. The least we can do is repay his favourite professor and mentor" Narcissa said. I turned to Draco and raised my eyebrows. Draco's pale cheeks had a small tint of pink in them as Narcissa and Lucius also turned to him.

"Favourite professor? My father will be happy to hear about that one" I said. Narcissa and Lucius both laughed. Draco's attention was still fixed on the plate in front of him.

"I think you are equal first with dear Severus" Narcissa told me. I laughed and nodded.

"He'll be happy to hear that, then."

"How are you and your father, Isabel? Do you have a good relationship?" Narcissa asked. How could I tell her and Lucius the truth? It would be too embarrassing. Not for me, but for him as well. I couldn't come out and say to Narcissa that Father and I had been fighting for weeks now over him not telling me that the man who said he loved me but I didn't love back was a werewolf. No, I couldn't possibly.

"We're fine. We have a very good relationship," I lied, "he has been very good to me. I don't know what I would do without him."

"That is lovely! I had a good relationship with my father when I was young, also. I've always believed that the father plays a pivotal role in bringing up children. Just look at Draco and Lucius. Could you imagine how terrible Draco would of turned out if Lucius wasn't there?" I tried not to choke on my food at that point. Terrible? Maybe that's going a bit too far. At least there would be none of that pureblood shit coming out of his mouth.

"Speaking of fathers and children, do you have any male suitors?" Narcissa enquired, taking a sip of her wine. I laughed, but there was no humor in the laugh whatsoever.

"No, of course not" I replied, trying to keep a smile on my face and Remus out of my head.

"I don't see why not. You are incredibly beautiful!"

"Narcissa, Narcissa. I think you are making Isabel a little uncomfortable. Maybe we could stay out of her personal life?" Lucius said to his wife. Thank you, Lucius, once again.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry, Isabel! My manners do escape me sometimes!"

"Don't worry about it, Narcissa. But, to be blunt, my personal life is not that interesting. It's quite dull really" I said, not telling the truth. In fact, my personal life was very complicated. A werewolf who used to tease my father was in love with me, the father of my old best friend was keeping in touch with me and wanted to spend time with me for a reason I am yet to know, my step-father hates me, my father and I are pissed off at each other and to top it off, I have to go and see a convicted murderer who is actually innocent and running from the ministry every few days or so.

* * *

We had all finished the main course, and we were waiting on desert. There was tension in the room. It was obvious. Narcissa was growing more and more suspicious of Lucius and I. I could see it in her eyes every time Lucius would look at me and smile, or say something to protect me from questions I didn't want to answer. Draco wasn't interested, and he didn't look at me. It was disappointing. Desert appeared on the table, and Narcissa clapped her hands.

"Desert is served! Enjoy, Isabel."

"I will, thank you, Narcissa." We began eating, and there were some very exotic deserts on the table. I couldn't imagine making any of this. I wasn't the home-y type. I was horrible at cooking, washing things etc.

"Did you make this yourself, Narcissa?" I asked.

"Yes, I did."

"It's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. You are a very skilled cook."

"Why, thank you. That is very kind of you." Narcissa looked to her side to see her son, still in a sour mood, frowning. She seemed infuriated at his attitude.

"Go to bed, Draco, if this is how you are going to act!" She snapped. Draco, without saying a word, stood up and pushed his chair in. Lucius seemed embarrassed by his son, and Narcissa...she just seemed plain pissed off.

"Goodnight Mother, goodnight Father, goodnight Professor Snape" Draco said curtly. He gave a small bow to me, turned on his heel and walked out quickly. I sighed and looked down. Narcissa was shaking her head and muttering something to herself that I couldn't quite catch.

"I am so very sorry about that, Isabel" Narcissa said.

"Don't be. He's just not in a good mood."

"He should learn how to behave, though. He's been very off with it lately. It's quite disappointing. Especially with a guest such as you in the house" Narcissa replied. I pursed my lips and nodded. I had to stop defending Draco. I just had to.

* * *

Lucius, Narcissa and I sat around the table drinking wine. We talked about such things as Hogwarts, Slytherin, their days at Hogwarts, my father, my family, my magical abilities and other things. I could see the way Narcissa was when Lucius smiled or even looked in my direction. She was getting suspicious - and Lucius knew it too. I didn't want to be that person. Especially not in their relationship. I hoped Narcissa knew that I wasn't in to steal her man. I looked at the time and practically jumped. I had been here for hours!

"I must be going," I said, "Father will be getting worried."

"Of course! Thank you for dining with us tonight, Isabel. It has been lovely. Do come back soon" Narcissa said, smiling.

"Thank you for being such a wonderful host" I told her.

"Come along, Isabel" Lucius said, holding his arm out to me. I linked my arm in his and we walked out of the room. I didn't dare look back at Narcissa's face.

* * *

Lucius and I walked into his study quietly. He seemed a different person around his family. More reserved. I think I trusted him again. He had been so good to me. I had a certain thirst to prove myself to Lucius. I didn't know why, it was just there.

"I hope you have had a good evening. I am sorry if Narcissa was too...well...overbearing." Lucius let out a small grin and took his arm away from mine.

"No, it was fine. It was good. Thank you."

"Well, I shall see you again soon?" Lucius asked, a hopeful look on his face.

"Certainly" I replied, nodding and smiling. How could I not come back soon? Lucius directed me to the fireplace and gave me some floo powder.

"Snape Household, Spinner's End" I said, throwing the floo powder into the fire. Just before I stepped in, I turned to face Lucius.

"Lucius?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For everything." Lucius smiled and nodded towards the fireplace.

"Go."

I stepped into the fireplace and with a flash of green light, I was gone.

* * *

"Where have you been?" I heard a stern voice shout at me. I looked up to see Father standing at the fireplace. Oh, great. A lecture.

"I've been out, alright? Get off my back."

"What if something had happened to you? Do you understand how frustrated I have been?"

"I am an adult, I can do as I please." I turned around and began walking to my room, not having a care in the world.

"Isabel! Isabel! Come back here...now" Father said sternly. I turned on my heel to face my father and walked back over slowly. I had to put and end to this. I missed the good relationship I had with my father. My stubbornness was taking control of me.

"What has gotten into you lately?" Father asked. The calmness in his voice was somewhat alarming.

"I'm sorry," I sighed, "I am just trying to please all these people at the one time when the only person that matters is you. You are my father and we are in this together." I swear I saw a rare smile flash upon my fathers face. I walked over to my father slowly and put my arms around him tightly.

"Am I forgiven?" I asked.

"Yes" Father replied. He released me from the hug and brushed my cheek with his hand.

"Do you realise what a beautiful young lady you are growing into? I can still see the day you came to live with me."

"Don't get all soppy with me, Dad!" I said, smiling. This was the way things should be. I should be happy with Father.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long, guys. Hope it was worth the wait!**

**Next Chapter - Isabel visits Sirius again (even though she is reluctant) and she spends time with a very good friend.**


	31. Forget Me

**A/N: Hey guys. I am trying to get these chapters written and posted to you as fast as I possibly can - you deserve it. I finally got my laptop back and every single of my written chapters had been wiped *insert massive sigh* This chapter is actually considerably shorter than the last one.**

**I was doing extra planning for my story yesterday and figured out that this story may well go over 150 chapters.**

_**Thanks to: LadyFateContemplatingDiaster, ThoughtVortex, Writersofthegods, toneale'anncurtis and Reader from New Zealand for reviewing last chapter.**_

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Last night went quite well, considering all the factors. Pretty much everything was bound to go wrong with Draco there, yet it didn't! Although, Narcissa was becoming quite suspicious of Lucius and I. What was there to get suspicious of? Apart from the fact that I spend a great deal of time with him. I got dressed into the normal and left my hair out. I looked into the mirror and leaned my head from side to side. I had always wondered why I didn't have the Veela characteristics of my sisters, apart from good looks and fair skin. Why didn't I inherit the bright eyes or the blond hair?

Today, unfortunately, I had to go see Black again. For someone who was the first person to escape Azkaban - he was an absolute idiot. He was the most immature person I had ever met, and that included the likes of Pansy Parkinson! How on earth did someone like Remus ever become friends with him? I tucked my wand safely away and walked down to the dining room.

"Good morning, Dad" I said.

"Isabel" he replied. He glanced up from his copy of the_ 'Daily Prophet' _and then looked back down again.

"Where are you going?" He asked, not looking at me while talking.

"Out" I answered.

"Does it not realise that all I want is to keep you safe? I want to know where you are going!" Father said, slamming down his paper and shooting a look at me. I shook off the side of me that told me to tell him everything. I promised.

"I'm sorry. I know you care, but I cannot tell you." I quickly left the house before he had the chance to say anything back to me. I felt guilty lying to him about Sirius, but I had promised Dumbledore, and when I make a promise with someone, I intended to keep it. I apparated away from Spinner's End and to the Little Phoenix Cottage - Sirius' hiding place.

* * *

I walked into the small, protected cottage to hear a loud bang coming from the kitchen. It didn't sound too good. Sirius Black had me worried. He acted all calm but I feared something was going on inside. He didn't seem all that mentally stable the first time I met him. I walked into the kitchen to see Sirius holding his hand.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"I just...it doesn't matter" he said. My eyes trailed over to the bench behind him to see a broken glass. Sirius sighed and showed me his bloodied hand.

"Sirius!" I gasped.

"It doesn't hurt."

"Go sit on the chair..."

"What?"

"You heard me, I need to fix it. Go sit down while I get a bandage." Sirius looked at me with a blank expression. I rolled my eyes and pushed Sirius down into the seat. I then went and looked around the kitchen for a bandage. I unlocked a high cupboard and took out a box. I opened it to see numerous numbers of bandages. I walked back over and placed the box of bandages on the table. I brought up a chair to sit opposite Sirius. I took out my wand and he held his hand out.

"What were you attempting to do?" I asked softly.

"Wash the dishes. Can you believe that? I am so trapped in this bloody place that I resort to doing housework!" Black answered.

"Well, at least you aren't in Azkaban with a heap of dementors everywhere." I was using my wand to heal the deep cuts on his hands. After I was finished, I got a bandage and wrapped his hand up tightly.

"I hate that" Sirius said.

"Hate what?"

"Perspective."

"Lighten up, Black." Sirius took his hand away from mine and looked uncomfortable. There was an awkward silence between the both of us.

"I hear that you are in contact with Andromeda..." Sirius said, breaking the silence. How did he know?

"Yes, I am. We're very close. How did you know?"

"Moony told me. How is she? And her family? What about her daughter. Ah - Nymphadora?"

"They are fine. I'm actually best friends with Tonks...I mean, Nymphadora. She hates being called Nymphadora. She likes Tonks. Anyway, Tonks is an auror now, and Andromeda spends most of her time at home. She's taught me heaps of stuff."

"Yeah, Andy was cool. The only one that I liked. Narcissa and Bellatrix are bitches." I slightly flinched at the sound of Narcissa's name, remembering the expression on her face when she first saw Lucius smile at me.

"Are you alright?" Black asked. I nodded, trying to hide my real feelings.

"Just fine."

"You don't look just fine..."

"What do you care about my feelings anyway, Black? I am a stupid girl, remember? And a Snape" I snapped. Sirius let out a deep breath and sat back in his chair, holding his injured hand. Why did I always have to ruin things by yelling at people.

"I'm sorry...I have, well, lets just say issues with my temper. I tend to lash out at people for no reason."

"Yes, Moony said you had a problem." I raised my eyebrows. Remus and Sirius had been talking about me?

"You've been speaking about me?"

"How could we not? I have never seen Remus act this way. He's in love with you..."

"Yes, I gathered that."

"So, the question is, Snape, why don't you love him back?" Didn't we talk about the Remus situation last time I was here. I didn't enjoy people wanting to know what was going on in my personal life and in my head. I was like my father. I was not a book, I was not to be read. I was a very private person, and I intended to keep it that way.

"I don't think this is a very appropriate conversation, Black."

"Oh, come on, you can trust me!"

"Can I? You've just escaped from Azkaban and you say I can trust you. Problem is, I don't know if I can." I stood up and began to pace around the room. This was wrong. I shouldn't have this responsibility on my shoulders! I was going to fuck this up. I'll accidentally tell someone where Sirius is and he'll go back into Azkaban.

"Snape?" Sirius asked in a calm voice, "what's wrong?"

"Oh, god. I shouldn't be here. Dumbledore shouldn't of told me to do this!"

"Snape..."

"Too young, too inexperienced."

"Snape."

"I'm just going to screw it all up!"

"Isabel!" I stopped and turned to Black. He just called me Isabel. Not Snape! He used my first name! I was a little confused. Was that a good thing? Geez, my head's all over the place.

"You need to calm down. I mean, seriously. Don't you think your going a little bit mental?" God, Black, do not give me another reason to rip your head off because I swear I will if you give me a chance.

"Lets move on to a different topic, shall we?" Black asked. I breathed in and out slowly, trying to put myself back together. Sirius was right. I had gone completely mental. I tried to shake it off and move past it.

"What house were you sorted in at Hogwarts?"

"Slytherin" I replied quickly.

"Typical" Sirius muttered.

"What?"

"Not one to break family tradition, eh, Snape?" Sirius had a smirk on his face. He was teasing me. And I didn't like it. I hated being pushed around and teased. It made me feel as if I wasn't important.

"Did I offend you? You are so dramatic. You really need to lighten up" Sirius said, "you know, I was sorted into - "

"Gryiffindor. I know. Even though everyone else in your family, Andromeda included, was sorted into Slytherin, you were sorted into Gryffindor." Sirius had a surprised look on his face, as if to say _'how the hell did you know that?'_

"You were best friends with James Potter and Remus Lupin - both in Gryffindor. And I know. I'm not stupid. Everyone knows you were sorted into Gryffindor."

"Not as dumb as you first seem, Snape."

"I do have a first name, Black."

"Who the hell chose Isabel anyway?"

"Both of my parents." He was being incredibly rude. Although, I was too. Sirius took out his wand and flicked over a bottle. It seemed to be a bottle of some alcoholic drink. I rolled my eyes and took out my wand quickly. I pointed my wand at the bottle and the bottle disappeared.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?"

"Dumbledore told me not to let you drink."

"Wise old bastard" Sirius muttered under his breath. I tried to hold in a laugh.

* * *

We sat in silence after his comment, and he seemed to be taking in my presence. He looked at me up and down slowly. I felt a little scared by the way his eyes trailed around every part of my body.

"Why are you so..."

"So what?"

"Attractive." I think he just blurted that out - he couldn't have said that without knowing what he was saying!

"Ah - er - well - um..." I didn't have a clue what to say. Not one bloody clue.

"I shouldn't have said that," Sirius said, "I cannot believe I just said that. You are the daughter of him for Merlin's sake! Bloody hell..."

"My mother is half Veela" I said.

"What?"

"My mother is half Veela" I repeated, "that means I am quarter Veela. You know, Veela..."

"Yes, I know what Veela is. How the hell is that possible? Your father is an ugly git - no offense."

"Offense taken."

"Stop complaining, Snape, this is me being nice. And to a Snape! Who would of thought the day would come where I would give an actual damn about anything to do with Severus Snape."

"So you give a damn about me?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"I - er - no." Sirius was trying desperately to cover up what he just said to me. I could see it.

"Don't lie to me, Sirius Black."

"I am not lying, stop being a bitch!"

"I am not a bitch"

"Yes you are. You are a massive bitch!" Suddenly, we both jumped as we heard the door slam and a few footsteps coming towards the both of us. We both turned to the doorway to see Remus standing there.

"Moony!"

"Isabel?" Remus said, looking towards me.

"Isabel? What, so no one goes 'Padfoot!'"

"What are you doing here?" Remus asked, a small smile creeping up on his face.

"Dumbledore assigned me to keep an eye on him."

"And you" Remus said, turning to Sirius, "called her a bitch?"

"I do not deny it. She is one - isn't she Moony?"

"No, of course she is not!"

"Wait, what? You aren't agreeing with me? Moony, I'm your best friend. Oh, wait, I forgot, you're in love with little miss sunshine over there."

"What did you just call me?" I snapped at Sirius.

"Oh, you heard me. You heard me!"

"All right, both of you, stop!" Remus shouted. He turned to me and put his arms on my shoulders.

"You and me are going for lunch. You'll go mad if you spend time around Padfoot, trust me."

"Gee, thanks Moony."

"We will talk later" Remus said to Sirius. Sirius rolled his eyes and stamped his foot on the ground like a six year old child. I still can't believe I have to help take care of this guy...

"Come on, Isabel" Remus said. I walked over to him and half smiled.

"Yeah, have fun. Don't make any babies while you're out!" Sirius shouted. I turned back to Sirius and pulled out my wand. There was only so much you could actually take.

"Isabel" Remus warned. I slowly lowered my wand and glared at Black. Black smirked at me. I knew how happy he was with himself. It made me sick. Remus put his arm around my shoulder and practically dragged me out of the cottage. Once we were out the front door, he looked at me with a stern expression.

"What?" I asked.

"I know he can be...difficult...but don't react like that."

"How the hell do you expect me to react, Remus? He's a git! I hate him! All he does is take the piss out of me and my father and it is offensive. Don't just expect me to stand there while he calls me a bitch and accuses us of being together!"

"Alright, settle down, Isabel."

"No, I will not settle down!"

"I need to take you away from this place. It's obviously driving you crazy. I know just the place!" Remus held his arm out, and I was hesitant.

"Isabel?" I cautiously took his arm, and we disapparated.

* * *

I looked around at the unfamiliar setting. I had no clue where we were. There were trees everywhere, and a lake. It was so open, but then again, it was probably in the middle of nowhere. I turned to Remus, who was admiring the setting.

"Where are we, Remus?" I asked softly.

"I used to come here when I was about your age. When I was having trouble with the world. When I felt lonely...you seem to be struggling a little." Remus had that warm smile on his face. I loved his smile. It made me feel safe. That was funny, considering he is a werewolf and all.

"Are you struggling, Isabel?"

"I don't know."

"That isn't an answer."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Remus."

"Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me everything. I don't care what it is. Just tell me. I can help you."

"I know you can, but I don't like people knowing what is going on with me." Remus laughed a little and shook his head.

"So much like your father. Isabel, listen to me, I only have your best interests in mind. I really do."

"I know you do, Remus. I know you care about me. But, sometimes, you really just have to leave me be. I can't deal with people barking orders down my throat."

"I'm not barking orders at you, I am concerned about you. You take too much responsibility on and it's not fair on you."

"Remus, please!" I exclaimed, covering my face with my hands. No more. I couldn't handle anymore. He was right, though. I felt as if I had this heavy load on my back and I couldn't get rid of it. There was Sirius, Lucius, Draco, Remus, Narcissa, Father, Dumbledore...all on my freaking back. I had enough.

"Isabel" Remus said softly, sitting down next to me.

"Isabel, please."

"I just want it all to end" I whispered. Remus then took me in his arms and held me.

"Better?" Remus asked. I nodded. Much better. I sat up and looked at Remus. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. The poor guy had to put up with all of my crap.

"Isabel..."

"Mmm?"

"Well - I just wanted to say - I don't think I love you anymore." What? He doesn't love me anymore? I couldn't help but feel like I'd been kicked in the gut a little, and that was stupid because I thought that I didn't love him back.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I managed to reply. I was shocked.

"I don't think I love you anymore...I know I love you..."

"Remus" I breathed out.

"Please, let me finish. I love you. And I know you don't love me back. And you shouldn't. I'm too old. I'm too poor and I am a bloody werewolf for Merlin's sake! But I love you, and I fear that I always will."

"Remus, we've talked about this."

"And I'm putting and end to us. So I'm proposing something..."

"And what would you be proposing, Remus?" I looked into his eyes. They were sad, and more dull than I had ever seen them. I could tell what he was going to say was not going to be incredibly happy.

"I want to modify your memory, so that I will never come up again. It's better off that you forget about me. I have caused you too much pain." I gasped and put my hands over my mouth. I shook my head. No, how could he want to do such a thing? I would never, and could never forget about Remus.

"Remus, I would never want you to do such a thing. Or even think about it!" Remus looked down towards the ground.

"It would be easier that way" Remus whispered.

"I don't want the easy way. And I could never, ever, imagine myself forgetting you. Remus, if you love me like you say you do, why would you want the heartbreak of me not remembering those beautiful and amazing memories that we have shared?"

"I don't want you remembering that I love you when you move on with another man."

"Are you giving up on me, Remus Lupin?"

"I know that I will never have a chance with you, Isabel Snape." We sat there in silence for a while. I was contemplating what life would be like had I actually fell in love with Remus. Would I have been happier? Life would of been a lot more complicated, especially with Remus' condition. But I wouldn't care about that. You can't judge a person by something that they cannot control. Remus stood up and held his hand out to me. I took it and he held me close.

"This is the only way..." he whispered.

"What is the only way?" Remus half smiled, but there was sadness in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Remus?" I felt his arm go around my waist as he pulled me in closer.

"Just one last time." He leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips. I did not try and push him away. I didn't know what I was doing. I thought I was kissing back. What was happening? And what did he mean by one last time? All I could feel was his lips on mine at the moment. He then broke the kiss.

"Forget me" he whispered into my ear.

"What?" Remus stepped back and looked into my eyes.

"Please, forget me." A tear ran down his cheek as he kissed me one last time.

"I love you" he said, "I love you...but you need to forget me..."

"Forget me. I love you" he whispered.

"What? No!" I shut my eyes together and tears started to come out. There was a loud crack, and I opened my eyes. Remus was nowhere to be seen.

"Remus!" I yelled.

"Remus, where are you?"

"REMUS!"

I fell to the ground. I sat on the wet ground, crying. He was gone.

* * *

I had spent the next few days crying in my room. Father begged me to tell him what was wrong, but I couldn't. I was trying to forget about Remus. It was the only way I could move past all of this. But the problem was, I didn't want to forget about him. Maybe I truly did love him. I stood up and walked over to the mantlepiece in my room. I looked at the photo of Charlie, Bill, Tonks and I. It occurred to me that I had not seen Andromeda in ages. I wanted to see her. I felt like I was missing something when I wasn't in contact with her. She was the closest thing to a mother I had at the moment. Well, her, Mrs. Weasley and Minerva. I packed up a trunk and shoved my wand in my pocket. I pulled the trunk downstairs and went into Father's study.

"Hello" I said softly, walking in.

"Isabel" he said, acknowledging me.

"I hope you don't mind, but I am just going to see Andromeda, Tonks and Ted for a few days. And then I'm going to stay with the Weasley's."

"Fine. But make sure if you get into trouble, you contact me."

"Of course." I began to leave the room slowly, hoping he would say those three words to me.

"Isabel?"

"Yes?" I turned around quickly. Father's dark eyes looked into mine, and he sighed.

"Be safe..."

"Yes..I...I will..." I walked out of the room quickly with my head down. I just wanted Father to tell me that he loved me. Isn't that what most father's do?

* * *

I had arrived on the doorstep of the Tonks residence. I had my trunk in one hand and used my free hand to knock on the door. There were a few thuds from inside the house and a few people calling out to each other. Ted and Andromeda seemed to be arguing on who was going to open the door, and Ted plainly stated there would be no one important at the door. Great, makes me feel super wanted. The door then opened, and there stood Andromeda.

"Isabel! My darling!" She threw her arms around me and held me tightly.

"Hi Andromeda. I hate to show up unannounced, but I needed to get out of the house for a few days. Is that alright?" Andromeda had a small smile on her face, but she was clearly concerned as to why I needed to leave my house.

"What a silly question, of course it is alright. You are like my adopted daughter! There is no way I could ever refuse you!" I turned around to grab my trunk, but Andromeda held an arm out.

"No, you go inside. I will get the trunk." I simply nodded and walked inside. Ted walked down the stairs and smiled at me.

"Isabel! How're you doing, kiddo? We've missed you around here."

"I'm good, thanks for asking, Ted. Yourself?"

"Wonderful. Dora has been telling us that you'd be around soon, and well, here you are! Finally!"

"Yeah, it's been a while. I've just been busy."

"Ah, the life of a Hogwarts professor. What a glamorous profession" Ted laughed. I smiled back. It was nice to finally be back. Ted and Andromeda were so warm towards me. I felt so privileged to know them. Andromeda had taken my trunk into the spare room and walked back out.

"Nymphadora will be home from Auror training in a few hours. Are you hungry?"

"Ah, yes, actually."

"Not to worry, I'll whip something up in no time. In the meantime, Isabel, you can sit in the sitting room and relax."

"Thank you, Andromeda."

"You are very welcome" Andromeda replied, brushing her hand against my cheek before walking into the kitchen. I had always felt that mother/daughter relationship with Andromeda.

* * *

Andromeda came into the sitting room with a tray of food and a hot drink of something. She placed it on the table in front of me, then she sat next to me and took my hand. She smiled, a sort of reassuring smile.

"There is something wrong" she said softly, "there is sadness in your eyes." I shut my eyes and thought of Remus. His smiling face, and then the last time I saw him, the single tear running down his cheek. I opened my eyes and shook my head. I began to cry and Andromeda took me in her hands.

"Oh, my dear. My dear, dear Isabel." She held me in her arms as I continued to cry over the man who loved me.

* * *

**A/N: Aww, Remus. I feel so sorry for the poor guy! **

**Next Chapter - Isabel will stay with the Tonks' for a little longer, she visits the Burrow - where she hears a very awkward conversation between Arthur and Molly about her.**

**Reviews are love! We got to 119 last chapter, lets aim for 125 by next chapter!**


	32. Move On

**A/N: Hello, hello! How is everyone? I am trying to get these chapters coming to you quickly. I am going through terrible writers block at the moment. When I say terrible - I mean TERRIBLE. This chapter is not as long as the others, and I am so sorry for that.**

**For those of you that have seen Deathly Hallows Part 2 already (like me) - HOW INCREDIBLE WAS IT! I mean, it was amazing. Absolutely amazing. I am so sad that it is over. I can only thank JK Rowling for everything she's given me. For everything she's given us. **

"_**Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."**_

**Harry Potter will never be forgotten. As long as those who remain are loyal to him.**

_**Thanks to: UltimateLHOTPFan, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, Elfsquire90, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, toneale'anncurtis, hemywonwon23 and BooksDontJustTellStories for their reviews of last chapter.**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. An incredible, incredible woman owns it. Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for all you have given me and my fellow Harry Potter fans.**

* * *

Andromeda passed me a tissue and I wiped my tears. I had never been more upset about anything in my life. I guess I was more attached to him then I thought. He told me to forget him. How could I ever forget Remus? Maybe I did feel a little more towards him than I originally thought. And here I was, being held by Andromeda, crying in her arms.

"My dear, dear girl" Andromeda whispered, stroking my hair as she hugged me tight. She was rocking me back and forth slowly. I missed this feeling. I never had this before. Mother loved me, but she didn't hug me when I was sad. She said proper ladies didn't let their emotions get in the way of anything. Yeah, like she could talk. Andromeda released me from her hug and smiled.

"Now, tell me whats going on..."

"I don't want to talk about it" I mumbled. Andromeda sighed.

"I cannot help you if I don't know whats going on."

"What if someone really close to you asked you to forget them? Forget everything about them. Forget your memories with them. What would you do?"

"I'd be devestated" Andromeda said. She looked closely at my expression and realised what was happening to me.

"Oh, Isabel! You listen to me, don't forget about them. It would only do yourself harm."

"I didn't plan on it."

"I'm sorry, my dear."

"I am too" I whispered. Andromeda pursed her lips, and I could tell she was trying to work out what to do with me. Ted walked into the room slowly and sat opposite me. I really didn't want to explain myself to him, either.

"So, kiddo, how's life?"

"How's life? Ted, how could you be so insensitive!" Andromeda snapped. I put my pale hand on Andromeda's arm and nodded.

"It's fine, Andromeda. I could use a distraction right now."

"I don't want people to be overbearing you."

"Trust me, Andromeda. I'm fine."

"Dromeda, she's a big girl" Ted said. I looked over at Ted and flashed a small smile of thanks. Andromeda could be quite a lot to handle when she was worried about you. Andromeda half glared at her husband, and Ted quickly stood up and left the room looking embarrassed.

"So, Sirius hasn't been caught yet" Andromeda said, a tone of concern in her voice. Oh my god, I forgot. She didn't know that Sirius was innocent. I thought back to yesterday, when Sirius and I were talking, and how he told me that Andromeda was his favourite person in the family. Maybe I should tell her? Andromeda was the only true family Sirius had.

"Andromeda" I said, my tone dull. I had to tell her. It would be cruel not to.

"Yes?"

"Can you promise me that what I am about to tell you, well, you won't tell anyone. Not even Ted or Dora."

"Isabel, what are you on about?"

"Sirius."

"What would you know about Sirius Black?"

"He's innocent, Andromeda" I said. I wouldn't care if Dumbledore went off at me for this. Andromeda's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"What? No. Is this some sick joke, Isabel? And how would you know?"

"Listen to me, please. I've been working with..." I began to say, but then it got to me. I couldn't say his name. It pained me to think of him. The way he left me. Those words kept going over and over in my head _'i love you, forget me, i love you, forget me, i love you, forget me, i love you, forget me'. _No, I couldn't let myself forget him. He was too valuable to me.

"Yes, Isabel?" Andromeda said, snapping me out of it.

"Right, well, um...I was there the night he came back to Hogwarts. Father and I caught him but him and his friend who were working at Hogwarts at the time told us the whole story and now he is innocent" I told Andromeda without taking a breath. I felt as if I were going to pass out.

"Should I believe you, Isabel?"

"Use Leglilmency on me. I swear I am telling the truth, Andromeda. Why would I lie about something like this? I would never lie to you about something like this." Andromeda's worried expression turned to a smile.

"Is this really true? Is Sirius really back?" I nodded and smiled.

"I have to see him!" Andromeda said. My smile turned to a frown. She couldn't go see him. It would risk the safety of Sirius.

"I'm sorry Andromeda. Not now. It's too risky."

"But I want to see him!"

"I know. And you will, in time. I promise you." Andromeda sighed and shook her head.

"I guess that was something I needed to expect." Andromeda shrugged her shoulders, as if she were just shaking off everything that I had just told her. _'Forget me'. _Why did those words keep following me? Everything I did, every thought I had...they were just invaded by him! He wouldn't go away! It was like a continuos nightmare.

"My dear girl, will you tell me what is wrong! You have been acting strange, and somewhat sad. I hate to see you like this." Well, where do I start?

"Nothing's wrong" I lied. Everything's wrong.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing" I replied.

"You are a terrible liar, Isabel."

"Andromeda" I whined, "there is nothing wrong with me." Andromeda gave me a look of disbelief and then shrugged. She would never believe me.

"Isabel, has it ever occurred to you that I may be the only one you can come to about these...these things? Your mother is all the way in France and I am really the only one that can provide the things that mothers should provide in this situation." Andromeda was right. She was my second mother. She only had my best interests at mind.

"The love of a man can harm us in many ways" Andromeda said softly. I looked at her and raised my eyebrows. Of course she knew! She's experienced.

"Andromeda, I...how did you...I can..."

"Isabel, you don't need to explain yourself to me. I can tell what you are going through."

"You can?" I asked. I was starting to think that I really could trust Andromeda when it came to Lucius and Remus, but I was too scared. I was scared what people would think of me when I told them.

"And you do not have to tell me who it is or what it is, because I am accepting of anything you want to do - except becoming a death eater. If you become a death eater, I will have to slap you or hex you or something along those lines." I laughed a little and Andromeda's dark eyes became a little brighter. It was that moment when I realised how much she cared.

"Thank you" I said softly, "I don't want to talk about it. I don't even want to think about it."

"I understand" Andromeda replied.

"Andromeda, what if I had small feelings for someone but I wasn't sure whether to trust them or not?"

"What do you mean? Is this person untrustworthy?"

"You could say that."

"Well, I would say be very cautious."

"Is that it?"

"Yes, that is it. I don't know what else I can say." Andromeda was looking at me, as if she were trying to find out something. I hated it when people were suspicious of me.

"ISABEL!" Someone squealed. I turned around to see Tonks grinning at me, her hair a very light blue. I jumped up and ran over to my best friend. She put her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I just wanted to come for a visit. I felt a little lonely."

"She's going to stay for a few nights" Andromeda said. Tonks jumped up and down and clapped her hands, obviously happy that I was staying. I sat back down and began to drift off a little.

"This is awesome!" Tonks exclaimed. I nodded, but I wasn't enthusiastic. Tonks frowned and jumped into the seat next to me.

"Why, may I ask, are you not as excited as I am?" Tonks asked.

"Nymphadora, leave Isabel alone. She's had a bit of a rough trot."

"Ah, man troubles. Or is it something else? I feel very sorry for you Veela's. All this male attention must be making you a little on edge." There was slight sarcasm in her voice. Tonks always seemed to have a little jealousy when it came to me. I didn't know why.

"Well at least your here. I finally get to spend some quality time with you" Tonks said.

* * *

That night I didn't sleep. It was hard. All I kept thinking about was Remus. I realised now that I had made a mistake. I felt so horrible. I had handled this whole situation in the wrong way. I had treated Remus' feelings as if they were nothing. And I had ignored my own feelings. As much as I tried to push them away, there was no denying that I cared for him. I sat next to the window sill and looked out the window.

"God, what have I done?" I whispered to myself. And now there were no way to fix it, because he wanted me to keep away from him. As much as I wanted to see him and go against his wishes, I wouldn't do it. I couldn't do it. It would hurt too much. It had finally hit me. I loved Remus Lupin. Unfortunately though, it was too late.

* * *

I woke up from my three hour sleep and stumbled my way down to the kitchen. I spent most of the night reading, so I was tired. As I walked into the kitchen, Andromeda and Ted both looked up from what they were reading.

"Morning, kiddo" Ted said.

"Good morning, darling" Andromeda said. She stood up and gave me a soft hug. Her eyes trailed my face and her eyes squinted when they reached mine.

"You, my dear, got no sleep at all." She got me. How is it she was so smart when it came to these things?"

"I know."

"Well, then, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I just must of missed my own bed or something."

"We both know that isn't true" Andromeda said. We were interrupted by a loud bang that came from behind us.

"Ouch! Stupid stand!" The door opened and Tonks fell into the room. She was on the floor, looking up at the three of us. I held out my hand to help her up and she took it.

"Tripped over again?" I asked, a small smirk on my face. Tonks gave me a sarcastic smile and turned to her mother.

"Can we get rid of that stupid bloody nightstand?" She asked. Andromeda shook her head and sat down.

"Honestly, Nymphadora, I do not understand why you cannot walk around it."

"It was in my way!"

"You are a clumsy girl..." Ted said, "everyone else can walk around it but you can't? Stop acting like a little girl, Dora." I glanced over at Tonks, who seemed genuinely hurt by what her parents were saying. Her eyes became a little more dull and she sighed.

"Fine. If that's the way you see it" Tonks snapped. She picked up her bag and stormed out of the room. The front door slammed and Tonks was gone.

"I do not know what to do with that girl sometimes" Andromeda said. I sat down as Andromeda poured me a cup of tea and placed a bowl of some sort of cereal in front of me.

"What are you planning to do today, Isabel?" Ted asked.

"I think I'll go and see the Weasley's. I haven't seen them in a while."

"That sounds like a lovely plan. And you'll come back her afterwards?" Andromeda asked.

"Yes, of course. I think I'll stay another night, if that is alright."

"How many times do we have to tell you, darling, that you are welcome here anytime." I half smiled and hugged Andromeda. She put her arms around me and hugged me back. I needed this. I needed the affection that a mother would normally give a daughter, and Andromeda was the closest thing I had to a mother at the moment with mine being in France and not making contact with me.

* * *

I arrived at the Burrow just after lunch. I knocked on the door and heard a few shouts coming from inside. I could instantly tell Fred and George were stirring up trouble. There were a few locks coming undone from inside and Molly Weasley opened the door.

"Isabel!" She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

"Hi Molly. Is it a good time for a visit?"

"It is always a good time for a visit, my dear. Come in, come in! Have you had something to eat for lunch?" Molly practically pulled me by my arm into the house. I smiled and nodded. The house looked incredible as always. It was colourful...it was very homey. It was much brighter than my house in Spinner's End. I heard a bunch of footsteps coming down the stairs. Into the room came Fred, George, Percy, Ron and Ginny.

"Isabel!" Ginny said, excitedly, "what are you doing here?"

"Coming to visit, of course." I glanced over at Percy, who seemed incredibly uncomfortable. His eyes were darting around the room, and he was trying not to make eye contact with me. Fred and George saw him and began to laugh.

"Hey Perce" I said softly. Molly looked at her son and gave him a stern look. Percy finally made eye contact with me and cleared his throat.

"Hello, Professor Snape. It is...wonderful...to see you again." Percy gave me a look I had never seen before. There was always that sense of friendship when he looked at me. That was gone. I didn't know how to react. Molly sighed from behind me and shook her head.

"Percy, there is no need to call me Professor. We're friends." Percy gave one nod, turned away and walked off. I was scared that I had said something, or done something wrong. But I couldn't have. I had only been here for a few minutes.

"Don't worry about him, Isabel" Fred said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, he's been acting like a real bloody git lately. It's all going to that big bloody head of his" George said, nudging me slightly. I smiled at George, but wasn't convinced. I didn't want to lose yet another friend.

"Do not talk about your brother in that way, George" Molly said quietly.

"He's right," Ron said before turning to me and grinning, "how're doing, Isabel?"

"Ronald Weasley, I do hope you do not call Isabel by her first name while you are at school. It is incredibly disrespectful."

"It's fine, Molly, really. He only has to call me that while we are in class. I wouldn't expect Ron, or Fred, or George, or Ginny to call me that, and I wouldn't expect Harry and Hermione to do it either." Ron gave me a thankful look, as if I had just saved him from a massive lecture. There was only one person that had not spoken up, and that was Ginny. She seemed a little scared around me.

* * *

Molly and I sat down at the long table and she poured me tea. I was going to get an interrogation from Molly, about everything in my life. And I wasn't going to tell her anything. I would lie. That's what I've been doing all the time lately. It's a little sad, but telling the truth was going to get me nothing but grief.

"How was your first year of teaching?" Molly asked.

"It was good. I learned a lot."

"Is that all you have to say to me?"

"Yes, that is about it. I learned a lot and I had a good time. I seem to be good at giving out punishments" I laughed. Molly laughed and sipped her tea.

"Well, Fred, George, Percy, Ron and Ginny all told me that you were one of the best teachers they have ever had. Fred and George particularly. They didn't give you any grief, did they? if they did I am so, so sorry."

"No, not at all! They were a delight to have. They just need to be put into place sometimes, thats all."

"Wonderful. Not many people can handle Fred and George."

"They are brilliant. They don't need handling or control." Molly smiled. It was true. I felt so proud to know Fred and George. We sat in silence for a while, but then there was a loud bang that came from the door. I looked towards the doorway and in walked, who I presumed was, Arthur Weasley.

"Hello, dear" Mr. Weasley said to his wife. He walked over to her to give her a quick kiss. He then sat down next to his wife and looked at me.

"Something tells me that I know who you are" he said. I half smiled and held out my hand.

"Isabel Snape" I said. Mr. Weasley shook my hand and looked at me with fascination.

"Arthur Weasley" he replied, letting go of my hand, "pleasure to finally meet you. Molly's told me a lot about you, as has everyone else." I smiled a little, but I didn't know what to say back. How do I reply to someone telling me that they've heard a lot about you.

"You were close friends will Bill, Charlie and Percy, weren't you?" Arthur asked. I nodded, clasped my hands together and placed them in my lap.

"Yeah, they were really good friends to me while I was at Hogwarts. I always felt a little out of place and having them around really helped."

"And you are teaching now?"

"I'm Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher. I take some classes but mostly I'm just there to observe and then Dumbledore said I'll take over the job in a couple years time when I am experienced enough."

"Well, the way the kids have been talking about you, it'll seem like you will have no trouble in the main role." Molly smiled at me, and I knew that Mr. Weasley approved of me.

"How is Charlie going?" I asked.

"Wonderfully. Very dangerous job, of course, but he is enjoying it" Molly replied.

"And Bill?"

"What about Bill?" A voice from behind us asked. Arthur, Molly and I looked around to see Bill standing there, his hands in his pockets, a bright smile on his face. I jumped out of my seat and threw my arms around the man who I considered my brother. I let go of Bill and smiled up at him.

"It's good to see you" I said.

"You too" he replied.

"Bill, my dear, you are home early" Molly said. Bill shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what to say back to his mother.

"Yeah, well, it was good timing, wasn't it?" Bill sat me down and then sat in the seat next to me.

"Say, Isabel, we're heading to the Quidditch World Cup in the next few days. How would you like to come along?" Arthur asked. It was tempting. I had always liked Quidditch. I wanted to play when I was younger. I was decent at flying a broom, but the first time I attempting Quidditch I absolutely failed. It was little embarrassing.

"Isabel! You have to come!" Bill pleaded.

"As much as I'd like to, I'm a bit too busy. Things to prepare for the next school year. Thank you for the offer, though." Arthur nodded.

"Well, if you change your mind" he said, "the offer still stands."

"Thank you."

* * *

The rest of my afternoon with the Weasley's went very well. I was happy around them. They were cheerful. Molly was a delightful host as always. She'd always ask if I wanted another cup of tea or if I was hungry. Arthur wanted to know if I knew anything about Muggles. I told him I got good marks in Muggle Studies while I was at school but my knowledge did not go beyond that. I mucked around with Fred and George. Ginny told me that Fred and George think of me as a big sister. I was surprised and touched that they thought of me that way. Ron told me how excited he was for the Quidditch World Cup, and Percy avoided me as much as he could. I said my goodbyes to everyone and departed the Burrow.

* * *

I arrived back at the Tonks house. Andromeda was relieved to see that I was still in one piece. She lead me into the kitchen for dinner. Tonks was standing there, a sour look on her face. Her hair was a dark red. I knew she was angry. She glanced up at me and gave me a curt nod. I was a little disappointed. She couldn't turn on a small smile. Not even for her best friend.

* * *

I again didn't sleep that night. All I could think about was Remus. It wasn't as bad as last night, but it was still hurting me. I never intended any of this to happen. I should of stopped him kissing me after we had those three students for detention. I had hurt him badly, and I had also hurt myself. I had to move on. I couldn't mope around like this for ages.

* * *

**A/N: More of a filler chapter more then anything, really. And it is a lot shorter then other chapters, so I apologise. My stupid writers block is getting in the way!**

**Next Chapter: Very important chapter! Story defining, even! I'll give you two names : **

**Isabel Snape. Lucius Malfoy.**

**That's all you guys are getting.**

* * *

**I have 2 questions to ask you guys.**

**Number One: Who do you WANT Isabel to end up with?**

**Number Two: Who do you THINK she'll end up with?**


	33. Betrayal

**A/N: Hello :) Alright, everyone, this is a MAJOR chapter in this story. So I want you to tell me what you think via reviews! My chapters seem to be somewhat smaller because of my writer's block. It's getting better though. I have been writing a lot more over the past couple of days.**

**I'm happy that I got this chapter up quickly. I think you deserved it after the long wait for last chapter.**

**Is anyone else as depressed as I am at the moment? I can't believe that it's the end of the Harry Potter films. **

_**Thanks to: HerAwesomeness, toneale'anncurtis, UltimateLHOTPFan, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, zannet88, elfsquire90 & death_wish_girl for your reviews of last chapter.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I walked down into the Tonks household kitchen and sat next to Andromeda. She smiled and fixed the front of my hair.

"Your fringe was a little bit out of place" she said.

"Thank you."

"Look at her, Ted. Isn't she getting more gorgeous by the day?"

"She is. Just like Dora. You two are both stunners."

"Thanks, Ted" I said.

"Anytime, Kiddo."

"Are you going home today?"

"Yes. I miss my father." Andromeda smiled and nodded. She had always been there for when I had troubles with Father, and she was one of those people who knew how much he meant to me. Some people would tell me, _'Isabel, your father is a git' _or _'Isabel, why can't your father be more like you? Why do you even live with him?' _It actually hurt when people said it. I loved my father. He had been kind and caring for me and that was all that mattered.

* * *

My trunk was packed and I was ready to go home. I pulled my trunk down the stairs and walked into the sitting room. Ted and Andromeda were standing there, and Ted had his arm around Andromeda. Sometimes I wished for this. For my mother to be with Father, and them standing there looking proud of me. I never understood why my father and mother had an affair.

"I hope you've had a good time" Andromeda said.

"I have. It's taken my mind off things. Thank you, both of you." Andromeda's arms found her way around me and she hugged me tightly. Andromeda let go, and Ted gave me a small, one arm hug.

"Thank you for letting me stay."

"Anytime, darling" Andromeda said.

"Well, okay..bye..." I picked up my trunk and began to walk out. The family feeling I got while I was here, it was rare for me.

* * *

Of course, when I arrived back at Spinner's End, it was raining and dark clouds covered the sky. I opened the door to the house and pulled my trunk in. I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep in my own bed. I pulled my trunk to my room and then walked back out to find my father. I hoped he was home. I missed him terribly.

"Hello?" I called out. I walked into my father's study to see him sitting there reading a book.

"Isabel..." he said.

"Good morning, Dad."

"How was your time at the Tonks household?"

"It was fine. It took my mind off a lot of things."

"Good. I am glad that you are back" Father said. I half smiled. I was glad to know that someone missed me. I walked out of Father's study and back into my room.

* * *

I didn't know what to do with myself anymore. I had been to the Tonks' household, I had been to the Burrow and I really couldn't go see Sirius or Remus. Sirius was too much of a git and Remus...well, I don't think we were on speaking terms anymore. As the sun shined through my window, I felt more alone then ever before. And then I thought of it. There would (apart from the Weasley family and the Tonks family) be one person that would always welcome me, no matter what situation. Sure, he was dangerous, but he cared. He seemed to care. I put on my traveling cloak and ran to the fireplace in the sitting room. I had to go.

* * *

I arrived at the Malfoy Manor in a hurry. It almost seemed that I was having a panic attack or something. I quickly ran out of the fireplace and looked around Lucius' study. He was nowhere to be seen. I was spiraling downwards - and quickly. And the funny thing was, I had no idea why. I walked out into the hall, holding my wand out.

"Lucius?" I called out. God, I hoped so badly that Draco and Narcissa were not home.

"Lucius?" I called out again. I heard footsteps coming my way. _'Please not Narcissa...please not Draco...not Narcissa...not Draco...' _I looked up to see Lucius, first looking shocked, and then concerned.

"Isabel? What on earth - "

"I'm sorry, I just needed to come. I didn't have anywhere else to go. I just feel so alone, Lucius."

"Oh, Isabel. Come along." Lucius put his arm around me and led me back to his study. He sat me down in one of his armchairs and then sat in front of me. I was shivering. Not because it was cold, but because of how upset I was. How pathetic was I? I was so upset that I came to Lucius Malfoy for help. But maybe there was apart of me that needed Lucius in times like this. I closed my eyes, trying to think of what to do. But his face just kept appearing. _'Forget me.' _

"Are Narcissa and Draco here?" I asked. I hoped they weren't. I really did. It would be awkward for me if they were.

"No, no. They've gone to stay with one of Narcissa's relatives for a few days. They will be back in the next few days." I nodded as my face fell.

"Isabel, darling, I cannot stand to see you sad" Lucius said. I opened my eyes and looked at Lucius, who was frowning. Did he just call me darling?

"What is wrong?" Lucius asked. I sighed and looked at the ground. People were asking me this question a lot lately. It bothered me.

"Isabel, tell me." I looked back at Lucius, who's eyes were now fixed on mine. There was something about his eyes...I couldn't tell what it was...

"What are we, Lucius?" I asked. Lucius laughed a little and seemed a little confused by my question. I needed to know. No more stuffing around.

"What do you mean?" Lucius replied.

"I mean, what is our relationship?" Lucius seemed a little uncomfortable, but I didn't regret asking him that question.

"Please be honest" I said softly, reaching out and touching Lucius' arm with my pale hand. Lucius looked down at my hand, then reached up for it and took it in his.

"You want me to be honest?" Lucius asked. I nodded.

"I need you to be honest. No one is being honest with me nowadays and it is really starting to get to me." Lucius half smiled and squeezed my hand.

"Okay, so you want me to be honest. Well, for one I think that you, Miss Isabel Snape, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Your pale skin seems to glow, somehow. Your jet black hair is as dark as the night sky, yet it shines in the sunlight. And your eyes. Your eyes seem to hide a part of you that you only show occasionally." Oh god. Not another one! Stupid freaking Veela heritage.

"I have developed feelings for you. That's all I can say to you."

"Lucius..."

"I know what you are going to say. I know." As soon as I knew it, Lucius leaned forward and his lips were on mine. I was panicking. What do I do? If I pushed him away from me, would he give me the Cruciatus Curse? I broke this kiss and turned away.

"No, Lucius, we can't do this."

"I don't care, Isabel. I do not fucking care! The only person I want is you. All this time we spent together...we have something special, Isabel. Ignoring our feelings for each other won't do anything. And you cannot deny your feelings for me. I know you have feelings for me. I can see it." I would deny my feelings for him, but the problem was that Lucius might have been right. But I couldn't! I did not want Lucius.

"Lucius...what about Draco? What about Narcissa?"

"Do you think I give a damn about those two when you are around. Like I said, Isabel, the only thing...the only person I want is you. And I love you."

"You don't love me" I said, shaking my head, "you can't."

"I do" Lucius whispered, "and I would give the world to be with you."

"Malfoy!" Someone called out, "Malfoy, you here?" Lucius gave me an apologetic look and stood up. I breathed out what seemed like a

"I will be back in a second, I promise." Lucius walked out of his study and left me sitting there. I was so confused. My head was spinning. Lucius Malfoy had just told me he had feelings for me. He had a wife and son, for Merlin's sakes! Why did this keep happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? I had to start coming up with a strategy to stop this all. I could not let myself to give in to Lucius. I had to be brave, and that was something I was never good at.

* * *

It had been five minutes, and I was starting to get suspicious. Lucius said that he'd be right back. I hoped that he hadn't just left me here. I took my wand out and stood up. I was getting suspicious. I walked out of Lucius' study and into the hallway. I could hear voices coming from the other end of the hall. I walked as quietly as I could, hoping that I wouldn't get caught. The voices became clearer, and I identified one as Lucius, but I had no clue who the other person was. It was a male voice. The voice was very deep. I hid around the corner so they didn't know I was there.

"Lucius, you have to hurry this up. We cannot wait for this."

"I know, Goyle, and I am getting onto it."

"How about the girl?"

"What girl?" Lucius asked.

"Snape." I covered my own mouth to stop myself from making a noise. Why were they talking about me?

"How is she coming along? Have you even talked to her about us, Lucius? As I said, this cannot wait. You have to get her on our side. We need numbers."

"Goyle, I am trying. I'm not sure how she's going to react to me telling her that I want her to join the Death Eaters. But the Dark Lord would be happy to have her. She's talented, there's no doubt." Holy shit. I trusted him! All he wanted me for was to be a Death Eater. I felt so foolish. I even thought Lucius felt something for me.

"Lucius, we all know you want her for your own pleasure." Of course. That's all Lucius wanted me for. How could I think otherwise.

"I don't know what your talking about."

"All of us know that all you wanted her for was to be a side dish to Narcissa. Look, Malfoy, you've got two days. If she accepts, than the Dark Lord will be happy to hear the news, I'm sure of it." The Dark Lord? You-Know-Who? Oh, god.

"She will join us, I am sure of it. I also think she's developed feelings for me."

"Well, then, you also get what you wanted, Lucius. We'll be glad to have her on our side, at least when Bellatrix comes back she'll feel threatened. I'm leaving. Make sure of her, Lucius." I heard a fireplace light up and then someone stepped into it. I leaned against the wall. This was all too much to take in. Lucius had lied to me. He wanted me as a Death Eater. I heard footsteps coming this way and I stood my ground. I wouldn't be a coward. Not this time around. Lucius turned the corner and his expression was one of shock when he saw me standing there. He knew I had heard everything.

"Isabel, I thought I told you to wait."

"You did, but I was getting suspicious." Lucius sighed and ran his hand through his long blond hair.

"Did you hear all of that?" Lucius asked. I nodded and readied my wand.

"How dare you" I said, "all you wanted me for was to roll around with me in bed. Well, you know what, Lucius? You can go and get stuffed." I turned around to leave, but Lucius grabbed my arm and turned me back to him.

"Isabel, I can explain."

"I trusted you, Lucius! I trusted you and you wanted me to become a Death Eater? I thought that you weren't the man that people told me you were. Even Draco is scared of you. I am not going to play games with you. Not anymore. Leave me alone." Suddenly, Lucius brought his lips to mine and kissed me roughly. I pushed him off and slapped him. Lucius' hand went to his cheek, which was now red.

"You bitch" Lucius spat, "I gave you everything. Be a little more grateful." Lucius whipped his wand out and shot a spell at me. I blocked it and we began to duel. He would shoot a spell, I would block. He'd shoot another one, I'd block that too. My head was in shambles. All I could think about was the way Lucius was talking to Goyle. The way he talked about me. I was so stupid to even think that Lucius had changed.

"Imperi-" Lucius began to say. Before he could finish the incantation, I flicked my wand and Lucius went flying backwards into a tall bookcase. Lucius held the back of his head and glared at me. I turned around and ran back to Lucius' study. I could hear him running after me. I quickly took some floo powder and chucked it into the fireplace. I was panicking. I wasn't thinking clearly. All of a sudden, a thought popped into my head and I blurted it out.

"Little Phoenix Cottage" I said quietly. Lucius opened the door to his study and lunged after me. I practically jumped into the fireplace and I was gone. I was never, ever going back to the Malfoy Manor. Lucius had played me, and it was too dangerous to ever be around him again.

* * *

I arrived at the small cottage. I leaned back against the wall of the fireplace and tears began falling from my eyes. Sirius ran into the room and looked at me up and down. His eyes widened when he saw my tears.

"What happened to you?" He asked. I stumbled out of the fireplace and fell into Sirius' arms.

"Easy...easy" he said softly, helping me to sit in the armchair. Why was I even here? Sirius had now seen me as a wreck. He was going to make fun of me.

"I should not have come here" I said, standing up.

"No, you are in no state to be leaving, " Sirius said in a stern voice before sitting me back down, "you are going to tell me everything that happened to you. Is it Moony? Remus, I mean? He told me what happened. He's been bloody depressed for days now, too."

"No, Sirius, it's not Remus."

"So it is somebody?"

"Yes." I sat there with a blank expression on my face as I stared at the floor. I didn't want to confide in Sirius. It was too weird.

"Who is it?"

"Lucius Malfoy" I mumbled.

"Stop mumbling, I can't here you."

"Lucius Malfoy" I said plainly, not looking up from the ground. Sirius let out a large sigh.

"Are you serious?" He asked. I turned to him and nodded.

"I was stupid, Sirius. I was so incredibly stupid. I thought I could trust him because he was so nice to me. And people warned me about him and I still didn't listen. And then...then I thought I could handle him on my own. And he wanted me to be a Death Eater. He was talking to Goyle about him and I heard them speaking to each other. I am such an idiot, Sirius!" Sirius looked at me apologetically. What could he say? What was I expecting him to say?

"It was stupid of you to get involved with him. But it is not your fault. You didn't know what he was capable of."

"Why aren't you blaming me?" I asked.

"Blaming you for what? You haven't done anything, Isabel." He used my first name. I couldn't believe it.

"What did he say?" Sirius asked. "To Goyle, I mean. What did he say to Goyle?"

"Goyle said that...that all Lucius wanted was to use me for his own pleasure. And...Lucius didn't deny it..." Sirius fists clenched.

"Do you want me to hit him? I swear I will hurt him."

"Why do you care, Sirius?"

"Because, you haven't told anyone where I am. You helped me when I cut my hand. I care because you actually give a stuff about me." Silence fell over the room. It was a little awkward, but the moment was kind of special. We realised we didn't have to fight each other anymore. Sirius smiled a little, and that brought out a smile on me too.

"I was wrong" Sirius said.

"About what?"

"You are nothing like your father" he replied. I was surprised. Everyone said I was like him. I could even see how alike we were.

"You teased my father while he was at school."

"I know. I confess to hating him."

"Why?"

"You don't need to know, Isabel."

"Please, tell me. I want to know I can trust you too."

"A thing I have learned, Isabel, is that you cannot trust anyone. Not even your best friend." He was right. I trusted Remus, and he turned out to be a werewolf. I trusted Lucius and it turned out that he wanted me as a Death Eater. I trusted Draco and he ended up hating me. Trust was truly overrated.

"You didn't answer my question" I said.

"Gryffindor and Slytherin are traditional rivals. I don't know, I just didn't like him and he didn't like me."

"I'm a Slytherin."

"You aren't a true Slytherin" Sirius said, "if you were, you would be at the Malfoy Manor with Lucius in his room doing who knows what. But you had the courage to stand up to him. You weren't a coward. You didn't take the easy way out. You might have been placed in Slytherin because you thought it was best for you and your father was in there, but you are truly a Gryffindor." I laughed under my breath.

"Don't be stupid."

"You are brave." I half smiled and the tears that were in my eyes were gone. Sirius had stopped the hurt.

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"It's my birthday tomorrow."

"Really?" I nodded.

"We need to celebrate! But unfortunately, _someone _made the alcohol vanish" Sirius said. Oh, right, I forgot that was me.

"I'm sure there is something in the kitchen" Sirius said, standing up and making his way into the kitchen. I stood up and walked over to a shelf, where three photo's sat. The first, was of what looked like an older version of Harry and Sirius. James Potter. He was quite handsome, and he was happy. The second, was a photo a baby, James Potter and a beautiful, red haired woman. Harry, Lily and James Potter. They were all smiling. It was beautiful. The last photo was of two handsome looking students in their Hogwarts robes. I recognised one as Sirius. But the other...he looked familiar. He was half smiling, but there was sadness in his eyes. There were scars on his face, too.

"I think this'll do!" Sirius shouted, walking back into the room. I stared at the photo, sadness filling me. The other person in the photo was Remus.

"That was in my seventh year" Sirius said softly. I quickly put the photo back up and grabbed the floo powder from the side of the fireplace.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. I'm sorry. Thank you Sirius. Please don't tell anyone about what happened with Lucius. Please." I threw the floo powder in the fire and wiped the tear that had fallen onto my cheek.

"Spinner's End, Snape Residence." I stepped into the fireplace and as soon as I knew it, I was home.

* * *

The next day was dull. I was greeted in the morning by my father, who gave me four big packages. One from the Tonks', one from the Weasley's, one from Mother, Fleur and Gabrielle and the other was marked anonymously. I gazed at the one marked anonymously and thought about who it could possibly be from. I opened all of them them unenthusiastically. I didn't care about my birthday. Not this year. Father gave me three boxes, all of different sizes. I opened them too. Father had a concerned look on his face, but he didn't ask me what was wrong. It was my birthday, and I only wanted two things. Only two. One, to erase everything that happened with Lucius. And two, to talk to Remus.

* * *

**A/N: So, we finally found out what Lucius' true motives were! Isabel really hasn't had a good run lately with Remus cutting off contact with her, and Tonks getting a little angry at her. But someone seems to be putting the smile back on her face!**

**Next Chapter - The weeks pass. She gets a letter from Lucius, pleading for her forgiveness. She returns to Hogwarts and Severus tells her that Beauxbatons will be apart of the Tri-Wizard tournament, and that two very special people will be attending.**

**The results from last chapter's question were:**

_**Who do you WANT Isabel to end up with?**_

_Remus got 3._

_Sirius got 3_

_Bill got 1_

_**Who do you THINK she'll end up with?**_

_Remus got 2_

_Sirius got 2_

_Don't know got 1_

_Draco got 1_

**So mixed results there...**

**This chapters question (yes, I'm making it a little more interactive...sort of...) :**

**How would you describe Isabel in a sentence? And tell me if you'd like more of these questions.**


	34. Reunited

**A/N: Hello everyone! I am sorry for the very slow update. This blasted writers block!**

**I decided (after arguing with myself for about an hour) that this chapter and what would have been next chapter would be combined.**

**Anyone else in deep Post Potter Depression at the moment?**

_**Thanks to: death_wish_girl, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, PooferPiggyWiggyBella19, toneale'anncurtis, Volleyballlover23, UltimateHOLTPFan, Xhex-Athame-Snape and the two people saying hello for reviewing last chapter.**_

_**A very big thanks to LadyFateContemplatingDisaster. You know what you did! You helped me out a lot in the past week and I am incredibly grateful. **_

**Disclaimer: I do not take credit for anything to do with Harry Potter. All the credit goes to the incredible, Ms. Rowling. Without her, where would I be?**

* * *

Was it possible to feel like you were the only person left on Earth? I didn't think so...until now. It was the day after my birthday - I should be happy! The problem was, I had come undone. I was an emotional wreck. I couldn't take anymore. I was finished with Lucius' lies. I realised that I loved someone only to realise that it was too late. I was an idiot. Everyone told me not to trust Lucius, yet I thought that I knew better than all these people. The owl flew into my room with five letters and placed them on my desk. All from the same person. I recognised the handwriting. _His _handwriting. They began to arrive. The letters. The pleading letters. I didn't want to open them, but I did anyway.

_**Isabel,  
**__**I am sorry.  
**__**Forgive me,  
**__**Lucius.**_

_**Isabel,  
**__**I love you. I am sorry for calling you a bitch.  
**__**You aren't a bitch.  
**__**We can talk about this.  
**__**Lucius.**_

_**Isabel,  
**__**I need you.  
**__**Lucius.**_

_**Isabel,  
**__**It is not like a Malfoy to beg,  
**__**But begging is what I need to do to get you back.  
**__**Lucius.**_

_**Isabel,  
**__**Please come back to me.  
**__**You mean so much to me.  
**__**I cannot bear to leave it here.  
**__**Lucius.**_

It made me sick. He made me sick. He thought that he could make everything okay by just writing letters, telling me that he loves me. He didn't love me. He never loved me. I would not write back to Lucius. I would not visit the Malfoy Manor. I would cut off all contact with him. Lucius Malfoy was evil, and he made me believe that he was a decent person. I hated him.

* * *

The holidays seemed to have flown past. I guess it was because all this drama had gone on. Father had sent our trunks and other belongings to Hogwarts, and we were about to apparate away from Spinner's End. It was weird. I felt like I needed to go back to Hogwarts. It was like it was the only way to escape all of this hurt and confusion. Father knew something was going on. I had not acted this way around him, and he was getting suspicious. Then, to everyone in the whole Wizarding World's shock, the Death Eaters attacked at the Quidditch World Cup. I could not believe it. The morning I read about it in the Daily Prophet I began to feel different, as if it were the beginning of something...and it wasn't going to be good. Father and I stepped outside into the empty street of Spinner's End. He held his arm out for me to take. I took it carefully and we disapparated.

* * *

I was back at my dark and dull private quarters. I began to unpack my belongings and put them all in their places. It felt different unpacking this year than unpacking last year. I felt depressed. I was by myself this year. All I could think about was him. His warm smile...the way his eyes would tell a whole different story...the way the scars on his face would make him a little more handsome. I had to stop this. My thoughts of him would eventually drive me mad. There was a small knock at my door and Father came into the room.

"Yes?" I said, my voice full of boredom.

"Isabel, I could not help but notice that you have been a little...down...these past few days. I have some news that could possibly cheer you up."

"What news could possibly cheer me up at the moment?" I muttered.

"As you know, the Tri Wizard Tournament is being held this year at Hogwarts. I have been given notice of the two school's attending." What was Father going on about? Why would I have any interest about what schools were coming?

"Go on" I said.

"The two school's attending are Durmstrang and Beauxbatons." My head suddenly snapped up. Beauxbatons? Fleur's school? Gabrielle's school?

"I have been advised that your sisters, Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour, will be attending the tournament." I practically squealed. For the first time in years, I would see my sisters. I was so excited! I had missed both of them terribly.

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you about such things, Isabel?" I gave a little squeal and hugged my father.

"This is brilliant! I am so excited!"

"Isabel, remember that they are only visiting. It is not permanent." Father's tone struck me down like a bird being shot from the sky. I was getting too ahead of myself. Father was concerned about me and I was getting carried away - it was understandable.

"I understand" I said softly, nodding. Father pursed his lips, nodded and walked out, leaving me by myself once again.

That night, I was restless. I tossed and turned but couldn't sleep. _He _was on my mind. Maybe I should have just let him modify my memory, because it'd be a lot easier than having to go through this. Everything that I thought of seemed to link back to my memories of him. The warm smile, the way he actually taught the kids something, the way he...no. I had to stop this. Remus Lupin had chosen to never see me again, and I had to deal with it.

* * *

The next morning was awful. I was tired and I felt worse than I had in a while. I ate breakfast by myself in my office, reading the daily prophet for the latest news. I suddenly felt as if this wasn't my life. It felt like someone else's life...it felt like my own father's life. All he did was read the paper, teach, tell a student off for something that they didn't do wrong, take points from Gryffindor...the life that I didn't want. Sure, I liked teaching, but I didn't want to be alone for the rest of my life. I had to take a walk to clear my head.

I walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and sat on one of the chairs. I looked around the empty room. It felt weird to be back in here. I sighed as I remembered the kiss that Remus and I shared at the front of this room. It seemed kind of unhealthy, the way I missed him.

"Isabel" I heard a voice say. I looked to the doorway to see Minerva standing there. She walked into the classroom and sat next to me.

"Hi" I said softly.

"How are you?" Minvera asked.

"Fine" I lied. Minerva knew I was lying. Her face said it all.

"My dear girl, do you really expect me to believe you? I can see by the look on your face that you aren't doing well."

"I miss him, Minerva. I miss Remus. I've made an awful mistake and now I'm paying for it."

"What on earth do you mean?" Minerva asked. I didn't want to relive it. It hurt too much to think about it.

"He doesn't want to see me, let's just put it like that" I said quickly.

"What do you mean he doesn't want to see you? He loves you, Isabel. We could all see it, Albus...Poppy...Filius...even your father. He was absolutely devastated when he found out about how close you two were. He came to Albus and I and ranted about how you were just a small girl and couldn't make the right choices. Then we realised that you didn't know. You didn't know you loved him, dear. I find it hard to believe that he does not want to see you..."

"Well, he doesn't, Minerva, and it's all my fault. I acted ridiculously and now I've paid for it."

"What happened?"

"He wants me to forget about him. He thinks I'll never have a chance with him, so he gave up on me and decided that he was going to just vanish. I haven't seen or spoken to him in ages."

"Remus adores you, Isabel..."

"He's gone, Minerva. He doesn't want to speak to me, and that's that."I sighed, realising that I was being rude, "I'm sorry Minerva, I just don't care anymore. It's the way Remus has chosen to go. I don't agree with it, but I just have to deal with it."

"It's fine, my dear..."

"No, it's not. I have no right to speak to you in such a way." Minerva half smiled at me and stood up. It was obvious that everyone was absolutely sick of my behaviour. I had to change. It was unfair on everyone else if I didn't. I was going to stop being whiney and telling everyone how my life is not fair and it's sad...otherwise I would lose those closest to me.

* * *

I walked into my private quarters to see a house elf placing a plate of food on my table, and putting purple flowers onto the table. I shut the door loudly and the house elf turned around.

"Dobby?" Dobby's face lit up and he grinned.

"Miss Isabel! It is good to see Miss Isabel again! Dobby was making Miss Isabel some dinner!"

"That's kind of you Dobby, but why would you be making me dinner?"

"Dobby is now working at Hogwarts, Miss! Dobby is working in the kitchens!"

"That's wonderful, Dobby! Congratulations."

"Thank you, Miss. Now Dobby will be able to visit Miss Isabel more often...if Miss Isabel would like that, of course." Dobby's eyes were filled with hope, and I could not say no to him.

"Of course, Dobby."

"Thank you, Miss Isabel!"

* * *

The day had come. Beauxbatons was going to arrive today. I was too excited for words. I had missed Fleur so much over the years. Today was the day I was going to be reunited with her. I'd also get to see Gabrielle! I couldn't wait to see the young lady she was growing in to. I readied myself for the Opening Feast. I brushed my jet black hair and sighed as I looked into the mirror. I hoped that Fleur and Gabrielle would not be disappointed by me.

I walked into the Great Hall to ready myself for the opening feast. There were more tables for the staff to sit at this year. I was guessing that was because we had to accommodate the Durmstrang staff and the Beauxbatons staff. I took my seat in between Father and Minerva. I couldn't help think that it could have been _him_ sitting next to me this year. Dumbledore walked in and began to make his way down the table, greeting each member of staff. He reached me and smiled.

"Isabel, my dear, lovely to see you again. How are you?"

"I am fine, Professor, how are you?"

"Wonderful. I hear that your sisters will be attending the tournament this year?"

"I believe that is correct..."

"Well, I am sure that it will be enjoyable for you to catch up with them." Dumbledore gave me a friendly nod and moved down the line.

Students began streaming in to the Great Hall. Through the crowd of students, I could see the blond hair belonging to my former friend, Draco Malfoy. I flinched when I remembered who his father was...I didn't want to bring him up in conversation or even think about him. The problem was, I would have Draco as a student this year, as I did last year, and it was going to be uncomfortable for me for him to be around, because all I could think about when seeing Draco was Lucius. I tore my eyes away from Draco to see Fred, George and Ginny Weasley walking into the hall. I smiled when I saw their faces. They were happy to be back at Hogwarts for another year. Fred saw me and gave me a huge wave. When George realised who Fred was waving to, he did the same. The twins had an unusual way of cheering me up. My eyes then drifted behind Fred, George and Ginny to see Harry, Ron and Hermione enter the room. Those three never had a dull year at Hogwarts, and I was expecting this year to be the same. Everyone was seated, and Dumbledore stepped up to the podium at the front of the Great Hall.

"Welcome! Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts. This year, however, will be different..." Dumbledore said before being interrupted by the buzz coming from students. Dumbledore let them continue for a second, before asking for their attention once more, "Yes, yes, it is quite exciting. Now, this year, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. However, first, we must welcome some special guests to our school, who will be joining us for the year. First, let us welcome Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and their Headmistress, Madame Maxime." This was the moment I had been waiting for. The doors opened, and the pupils of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic made their entrance. Their Headmistress was the tallest woman I had ever seen, but there was no sign of Fleur or Gabrielle. I scanned the students even more and saw two girls with silvery blond hair, bright eyes, pale skin...it had to be them. I looked at the older girl and gasped...it was my sister, Fleur. She had grown up to the expectations of everyone, she was stunning. As was the smaller girl by her side, who I presumed was my youngest sister Gabrielle. They both looked incredible. The Beauxbatons students and their Headmistress had finished their entrance, and Dumbledore made his way back to the front of the Great Hall.

"Welcome to the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic! Now, let us welcome out friends from Durmstrang, and their Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff. The Great Hall doors opened again, and in came the students from Durmstrang. They were intimidating to say the least. I realised the student near the back of the Durmstrang group was Viktor Krum, the famous Quidditch seeker. No doubt many students would be getting excited to see him. Durmstrang's Headmaster, Karkaroff, greeted Dumbledore as his students sat down.

* * *

The feast had begun, and I just wanted it to finish! I wanted to go and sit with my sisters, who I had missed so much. Karkaroff was seated near my father, and for some reason, there seemed to be tension between the two of them. I instantly didn't like Karkaroff. He was too shady. Dumbledore, again, made his way to the front of the Great Hall.

"As I said earlier this evening, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. A contest if you like...but this contest is not for the faint hearted. If chosen you stand alone, and do not take that lightly. These tasks that you must perform in this tournament are difficult and extremely dangerous. To discuss one of the newer rules of the tournament, please welcome the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Mr Bartemius Crouch." Mr. Crouch stepped forward and looked out to the students, but before he could say anything, the ceiling began to play up. Suddenly, before anyone could really take out their wands, someone blasted the ceiling back to normal. We all looked to see who it was, to see a creepy man standing at the back of the room. He greeted Dumbledore and went back to standing near the back. I assumed that this was the man I'd be working with this year.

"A new rule to the tournament is that for their own safety, no wizard under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the tournament." This decision, not surprisingly, came to piss of several of the students. Dumbledore shouted at them to get them to calm down. He then revealed an old looking Goblet, with fire coming from the top. It looked so magical.

"To enter, you need only to submit your name into this...the Goblet of Fire. One student will be chosen to represent each school. You must remember, only one will host this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory...the Tri Wizard Cup!" Dumbledore pointed towards the cup and the sheet came off, revealing the cup. It was incredible. The cup was shining, it was bright...it was somewhat beautiful. By the looks of some of the students, they were entranced.

* * *

The feast was over, finally. I looked over to see Fleur and Gabrielle standing by themselves in the middle of the Great Hall. I glanced over at Father, who gave me one nod. I stood up and began to walk down to Fleur and Gabrielle. This was the moment that I had been waiting for. As I got closer to the two, Gabrielle saw me and smiled. She quickly tapped Fleur on the shoulder, who turned quickly to face me. Her face lit up as she ran over to me. I threw my arms around her as she reached my and hugged her tightly.

"Isabel!" Fleur held me tightly, and I felt a tear drop on my shoulder, "Oh, comment j'ai manqué vous." I closed my eyes to take in the moment. My sister, my first best friend, the girl who I grew up with was finally here with me. Fleur let go of me and smiled.

"Look at you! Vous avez grandi à être si belle!" Fleur exclaimed.

"So have you Fleur. You are absolutely stunning" I replied. I looked down to Fleur's left to see Gabrielle staring at me.

"Et vous, Gabrielle! Vous avez tellement grandi! Regardez comment sont vous magnifiques!" I exclaimed. Gabrielle smiled and surprised me, by wrapping her arms around me.

"I've missed you, Isabel" Gabrielle whispered.

"Gabrielle, you didn't even know who I was."

"Yes, but I 'ave still missed you." I looked up at Fleur, who was smiling.

"I've missed you too, Gabrielle. I've missed both of you." Fleur joined in on the hug, and I remembered the times when I was younger. The times that I spent with Fleur, all the memories we shared. Now we were here, together again. Fleur looked to the long teacher's table, and then to me.

"Which one eez you're father?" She asked. I pointed to Father, who was watching the three of us.

"Him."

"You ave' his eyes, Isabel" Fleur said. Father realised that we were talking about him and stood up. He walked slowly down to the three of us, and stood by my side. Gabrielle and Fleur looked slightly intimidated.

"Fleur, Gabrielle, this is my father, Severus Snape. Father, these are my sisters, Fleur and Gabrielle." Father gave a nod to both Gabrielle and Fleur.

"We are pleased to finally meet you" Fleur said, trying as hard as possible not to let her accent get in the way of her pronunciation of the words. Father didn't look to interested, but I was hoping that for my sake he would make an effort.

"Isabel speaks of both of you quite a lot. How great it is to see you all reunited once more" Father said, his voice extremely dull. Gabrielle and Fleur seemed intimidated by the man dressed in black standing before them. Fear was all over Gabrielle's face. All they could manage was a small smile and nod. Father nodded at me and quickly walked off.

"'E eez a little beet scary" Gabrielle said softly.

"It's alright, Gabrielle, he's not that bad."

"I am going to enter the tournament" Fleur said suddenly.

"What?" I replied back. I didn't want her to enter the tournament. I did not want my little sister risking her life for a tournament.

"You do not think eet eez a good idea?" Fleur asked. I didn't want to discourage her, but I didn't want her entering, either. At the end of the day, though, it was her choice and not mine.

"Fleur, just do what you think is right. I just want you to be safe, that's all." Fleur smiled, but I knew that she already made her mind up.

"I nearly forgot!" Fleur exclaimed, taking something out of a small bag next to her.

"Has Mother been teaching you English?" I asked. Gabrielle nodded enthusiastically, and Fleur just gave me a small nod before giving me a package.

"Eet eez from Mother!" I opened the package to see photos and a small black perfume bottle.

"Zey are photographs of Gabrielle and I when we were growing up."

"Ze black bottle has perfume een eet" Gabrielle said. I went through the photos, and they were lovely, except for one thing - there was sadness in their eyes. I could see Fleur's eyes...it was as if she were searching for something. I held the black bottle up to my nose and smelled it. Only mother could of found me a perfume this amazing.

"Thank you" I said. Gabrielle and Fleur put their arms around me and hugged me tightly.

"I am so glad that we are all together again" I whispered. Fleur let go and looked over her shoulder to see their Headmistress calling them over. Fleur gave me an apologetic look, said her goodbye's and left with Gabrielle. I felt good knowing that we weren't going to be apart for years, now, we'd only be apart until tomorrow.

* * *

As I was preparing to leave the hall, there was a grizzly sounding cough from behind me. I turned to see the creepy looking man from earlier this evening standing there.

"I have been told to seek Professor Isabel Snape, my assistant, I am presuming you are her..." he began to say. I couldn't really concentrate on what he was saying because of his appearance. He was just scary...

"Yes," I said, "yes I am."

"Alastor Moody" he said.

"Pleased to meet you" I replied, unsure of what to say next.

"Dumbledore has told me many good things about you. I am hopeful that you will live up to the expectations."

"Yes, sir. If you'll excuse me, Professor, but I have some business I need to attend to" I told him, looking over his shoulder to see Draco Malfoy staring at me. He gave me a nod and let me past him. I made my way over to Draco, who wasn't alone.

"Professor Snape!" Pansy Parkinson, the idiot girl from Slytherin exclaimed. I decided to ignore Parkinson as I turned to the blond boy in the middle.

"Draco" I said, "can I have a word?"

"Of course, Professor" he replied. We walked over into the corner of the Great Hall, and he seemed a little bit more on edge than normal.

"What's going on?" Draco suddenly asked me.

"What? What do you mean what's going on?" I asked in return. What did he mean?

"My father has been pissed off for days. He isn't talking to mother and he isn't talking to me. I would like to know what is wrong with him." I knew exactly what was wrong. What a bastard...taking it out on his family. I wonder if Draco knew that Lucius was a Death Eater. I thought about telling Dumbledore or Father what I overheard at the Malfoy Manor, but I was too scared. After what happened at the Quidditch World Cup, I couldn't help but think Lucius was involved...

"Draco, I'm not sure. Your father and I are just...acquaintances. We do not speak that often and if we did I would say that he still wouldn't tell me." Draco made a face, as if he knew that I was lying, but he let it go and turned his back on me. I didn't care. Draco was going to wake up to himself one day. I looked to the Goblet of Fire and stared at the flame coming from the top. It was going to be a very long year.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry again for the long wait, guys. I hope that it was worth it! So, Fleur and Gabrielle have re entered Isabel's life! Lucius is begging for forgiveness...but I don't think that he'll get it. And the guilt over Remus is really starting to sink in!**

**Translation for the French -**

"Oh, comment j'ai manqué vous." - Oh, how I've missed you.

"Vous avez grandi à être si belle" - You grew to be so beautiful.

"Et vous, Gabrielle! Vous avez tellement grandi! Regardez comment sont vous magnifiques!" - And you, Gabrielle! You have grown so much! Look how beautiful you are!

**Next Chapter - She has to supervise the Goblet of Fire, as Moody (also known as Barty Crouch Jr) thinks she is not needed in his class. Draco, yet again, asks about Lucius. Fred, George and Isabel muck around a little and Dumbledore tells her that Sirius is going to move to a hiding place near Hogwarts...**

**Now, another question!**

**Number 1 -**

**Your favourite part in Deathly Hallows Part 2?**

**Number 2 -**

**What actress would you get to play Isabel if she was in the Harry Potter movies?**

**Let's try get to 155 reviews! That's 11 reviews from now until I post my next chapter, but I think it's an achievable target! So all of you who are just reading this and not thinking of reviewing, I urge to to review!**


	35. Unforgivable Curses

**A/N: Hey guys,**

**YAY! OVER 150 REVIEWS! I am so happy, guys. Well done to you all!**

**Also, just something to point out, I am not going EXACTLY by the timeline of the book or the movies. I am going by the timeline that suits my plot best. Also, I'm not going exactly by the book. I will be mixing things that happen in the book with the way things happened in the films.**

_**Thanks to: LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, AmandatheBookworm, hi (I am hoping your next review you'll use full words!), death_wish_girl, Elfsquire90, UltimateLHOTPFan, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, smoochywoochyhigglebottom99, Sailor_Dreamer95, Reader AZ and HPFan.**_

**_To Reader AZ - No, Gabrielle is the same age in my story. She is in the second chapter due to a mathematical mistake. Like JK Rowling, I am not a great mathematician. _**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter :(**

* * *

**Guys, I took the older version of this chapter down and replaced it with this one. There is just one change! Thank you to Vollyballlover23 for pointing this out!**

* * *

The next day I woke to hear someone knocking on the door to my office. I wanted to tell them to go away...I wasn't in the mood for visitors this early in the morning. I got out of bed reluctantly, put on my robe and walked out of my private quarters into my office and opened the door. I was surprised to see a smiling Professor Dumbledore standing there.

"Good morning, Miss Snape. Did I wake you?"

"No," I lied, "I was just about to get up..."

"Of course" Dumbledore said. He knew I had just lied to him. I let Dumbledore into my office. He walked in and sat at one of the chairs in front of my desk. I walked behind my desk and sat down. I took out my wand and lit the flames in my fireplace.

"Your office is lovely," Dumbledore told me, looking to the mantlepiece, "what a nice personal touch."

"Thank you."

"You must be glad to see your sisters again."

"Yes, it was good. I missed them very much. If you don't mind me asking, Professor, why are you here?" I tried not to sound rude, but I was quite curious as to why he was in my office at this time in the morning.

"Oh, how silly of me, I have a few important things to tell you. Firstly, I have arranged for you to be supervising the Goblet of Fire during the day..."

"Sir, I have classes to teach..."

"All taken care of, Miss Snape. Professor Moody has gladly let you off a few days of classes." Great, I had to watch people putting names into a goblet all day. That was going to be very beneficial...

"Anything else, Professor?" I asked. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and looked around, as if he were searching for something to tell me. His eyes then lit up and he turned back to me.

"As a matter of fact, there is something...something very important. Because Sirius' arrangements have been a little bit inconvenient, we have decided to move him closer to Hogwarts. There is an underground hiding spot just outside Hogsmeade that I have created for him. You will be able to apparate there from school grounds..."

"Sir, I thought no one was able to disapparate from Hogwarts."

"No, they are not, but I have given special permission for you. However, there is something I should tell you about...Sirius' hiding spot will be the only place you will be apparate to. Am I clear?" I nodded.

"Yes, Professor."

"Good. Sirius is speaking highly of you..."

"Good to hear, Sir."

"Good day, Miss Snape. Good luck with the supervising today."

"Thank you, Professor." Dumbledore gave me a nod and left my office quickly. As Dumbledore left my office, it got me thinking. It seemed as if Moody didn't want me teaching alongside him. I just brushed that aside though, as I wanted no trouble with Mad-Eye.

* * *

I walked into the Great Hall to see many students standing around the Goblet of Fire. The students turned to see me and their smiles all turned into frowns. This was the one place where they weren't being supervised.

"What are you doing here, Professor Snape?" Seamus Finnigan asked. I sat in one of the seats near the Goblet of Fire and smiled at him.

"I am here because Dumbledore asked me to supervise, is that alright with you, Mr Finnigan?" Seamus nodded and went back to his own business, Dean Thomas laughing at him. I had humiliated him. The doors to the Great Hall opened as Madame Maxime, Fleur and Gabrielle entered the hall. Students began whispering, looking back and forth between Fleur and I.

"_I heard that they're sisters!"_

"_Different Dads?"_

"_They've got the same nose!"_

"_Fleur's the pretty one."_

"_No, I think Isabel got the good looks."_

I stood up and walked over to my younger sisters.

"Headmistress, zis' eez' my sister, Isabel" Fleur said. Madame Maxime looked down at me and her eyes widened.

"Sister?" Madame Maxime raised her eyebrows and looked me up and down, as if to check if I was worthy of her presence. She half smiled and turned back to Fleur.

"She's my half sister" Fleur said. Madame Maxime nodded. She then seemed to push Fleur along towards the Goblet. Gabrielle stood next to me and grinned at Fleur. Fleur reached up and put her name into the Goblet. I sighed. She had no idea what she was getting herself into.

"Come along, Fleur" Madame Maxime said before Fleur could walk over to me. Fleur gave me an apologetic look and walked out of the Great Hall with her Headmistress. I sat back into my seat and glanced to my right, realising that Gabrielle was still with me.

"Shouldn't you be going with them?" I asked.

"No. Je ne suis pas autorisé à assister aux cours" Gabrielle said with a sigh. I felt sorry for Gabrielle. She had been taken from her friends that were her age just to come along with Fleur to a place where she didn't know anyone. She was just a kid.

"Pourquoi est-ce là?" I asked

"Madame Maxime pense que je suis trop jeune et que me fleur ne peut pas gérer. Elle dit fleur doit se concentrer sur le tournoi. Elle n'a même pas été cueillies encore!" I felt guilty. I had missed to many years of Gabrielle's childhood. I didn't get to see her grow up. It made me very sad thinking about it. I wondered if she knew the story about how her father, my step-father, kicked me out of the house when I was not a lot older than her.

"Madame Maxime pense que je suis trop jeune. Elle croit que je suis une distraction de fleur et que Fleur can't handle-moi. Elle se soucie de fleur mais elle n'a même pas de soins pour moi." Everyone seemed to be fooled by Madame Maxime, but I certainly wasn't. I didn't want Gabrielle to feel alone.

"Well, you can stay with me if you'd like" I said to my youngest sister with a smile.

"Really?" I nodded and Gabrielle threw her arms around me. I wrapped my arms around my younger sister and hugged her tightly. It was these moments that I had missed out on. I never had the sort of love that a sibling gave you. I never had a lot of love at all while I was with Father. He wasn't a very expressive person. Gabrielle let go and sat back in the seat, smiling up at me.

"You are a good sister, Isabel" Gabrielle told me. I was surprised at how good her English was.

* * *

It was about lunchtime when I heard a round of applause coming from the doorway. I stood up, as did Gabrielle, to see what the fuss was about. I smirked when I saw Fred and George running in, holding something up in the air. I also realised that someone had appeared next to me. I turned to see Dumbledore standing next to me.

"Hello, Miss Snape" Dumbledore said. How did he manage to get there without me noticing?

"Hello, Professor," I replied, still in shock, "may I introduce you to my sister?" I moved out of the way so that Dumbledore could see my younger sister. "Headmaster, this is my youngest sister, Gabrielle Delacour. Gabrielle, this is the Headmaster if Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore." Dumbledore smiled and held out his hand. Gabrielle shook his hand and smiled up at the Headmaster.

"Pleased to meet you, Professor" Gabrielle said.

"You have very good English skills, Miss Delacour" Dumbledore told her.

"My mother taught me." The three of us looked over to see Fred and George just about to drink something. A potion of some sorts, it seemed.

"Ready Fred?"

"Ready George."

"Bottoms Up." The twins drank the potion and jumped through the age line. Dumbledore was laughing to himself. Fred and George realised that Dumbledore and myself were in the room and seemed surprised to see us. Fred gave me a wink as both of them put their names into the Goblet. I wondered why Professor Dumbledore was not stopping this. All of a sudden, flames began shooting out of the Goblet, and Fred and George went flying to the back of the Hall. They sat up to reveal the aging potion had gone terribly wrong. I couldn't help but laugh. Gabrielle was laughing her head off.

"Do you know them?" Gabrielle asked, still laughing.

"Yes," I replied, "they are my friends." Suddenly, the room went quiet and eyes were back to the Goblet of Fire. Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang, had just walked in with Karkaroff and his aide. Krum threw his name into the Goblet. He was intimidating to say the least.

"Does he scare you, Isabel?" Gabrielle asked.

"Sort of. Why? Does he scare you?"

"Yes." I sighed and hugged Gabrielle tightly.

"There is no need to be scared of him. He will not hurt you. He won't hurt Fleur, either." I could see Gabrielle still needed cheering up, so I had an idea.

"Dumbledore, may I finish up here?" I asked.

"Of course...if you have a reason."

"I would like to spend time with Gabrielle."

"Of course, have a good time, Miss Snape." I held out my hand for Gabrielle to take it and stood up.

"What's this?" Gabrielle asked, looking at my hand.

"We're going to meet someone, and I think you'll like him. He is a very good friend of mine." Gabrielle half smiled, took my hand and stood up. She held my hand tightly as we left the Great Hall.

* * *

We were walking down the stairs to the Hogwarts Kitchen, and Gabrielle seemed nervous.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I want your friend to like me" Gabrielle replied. What had Madame Maxime done to her? And my mother? She was afraid of people...she was afraid that people wouldn't like her. She was only eight for Merlin's sakes!

"Gabrielle, my friend will love you, as long as you are kind to him." I opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and led Gabrielle into the Kitchens. We walked around the kitchen for a little bit until we saw a house elf sitting in the corner by himself. The house elf looked up and his eyes lit up. It was Dobby.

"Miss Isabel!" Dobby said. Dobby jumped up and smiled. He looked at Gabrielle and smiled even more.

"Dobby wonders who this is" Dobby said.

"Dobby, this is my younger sister, Gabrielle." Dobby and Gabrielle shook hands as Gabrielle laughed.

"Dobby is pleased to meet you."

"I'm pleased to meet you too, Dobby" Gabrielle replied. She was truly happy to have made a new friend in Dobby.

"Dobby, I have a favour to ask you" I said to the house elf.

"Anything, Miss Snape."

"Would it be possible for you to be there for Gabrielle in the times she is lonely? You see, I am not always available to be with her, so when she is alone, will you be able to be a friend to her?" I asked. I knew Dobby would say yes, it was just I was worried. Gabrielle didn't have any friends here. She only had Fleur and I. Hopefully Dobby would make her feel better.

"Of course Dobby will be friends with Miss Gabrielle and spend time with her!" Both Dobby and Gabrielle grinned. I knew this was going to be a good arrangement.

* * *

The next day came and I really didn't want to have anything to do with it. Unfortunately for me, I had to bloody teach classes...and with Moody of all people. I got ready and tied my jet black hair back in a pony tail, leaving my fringe out. The prospect of teaching classes with someone that was said to be crazy made me a little on edge, but I had to deal with it. Who knows, I might learn a thing or two. I walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom and there stood Moody. He was bloody scary. Especially with the eye.

"Good morning, Professor Moody" I said.

"Miss Snape..." he replied. That bothered me. Remus never called me Miss Snape...it was always Professor Snape. Oh, god, Remus was in my head again!

"I don't want to sound rude, sir, but it is Professor Snape, not Miss Snape." I was afraid that if I sounded rude he'd lock me up or something. I mean, the guy was mad.

"I'm sorry, _Miss _Snape, but you are just an assistant."

"I am known to the students as Professor Snape."

"To the students you may be known as Professor Snape, but until we are on a first name basis, it will be Miss Snape." How dare he! Just because I was an assistant. He really bothered me now.

For our first class of the day, we had Harry's class. I sat down at my desk at the side of the room waited for Moody to start the lesson.

* * *

After Moody had taken attendance and introduced himself he looked out over all of the students sitting in front of him.

"Who knows how many unforgivable curses there are?" No, oh dear god, no. Hermione reluctantly put up her hand as the rest of the classroom looked dumbfounded.

"Three, Sir" Hermione said, a tone of fear in her voice. Most of the students looked to me for help, but I was so shocked that I couldn't even move.

"And they are so named?"

"Because they are unforgivable, Sir" Hermione replied, "the use of any one of them will..."

"Earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban! The ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different! You need to be prepared and you need to find another place to put chewing gum Mr Finnigan!"

"No way...he can see out of the back of his head" Seamus Finnigan moaned.

"And hear across classrooms!" Moody shouted. Bloody hell, the guy is mental. I sat back in my seat, absolutely scared to death.

"Now, who wants to see what these curses do?" Moody asked. Moody turned around to take some sort of spider out of a jar behind him.

"Now, give me a curse" he said to the students. I had to speak up. There was no way I could let this happen. They were only children! They should not have to suffer through this!

"Professor Moody this is highly inappropriate!" I said sternly, standing up. "I will not allow you to even speak of such things in this classroom, let alone teach them!"

"Miss Snape I do not need you telling me what is and what is not appropriate for my classroom. Now sit down or I will make you sit down" Moody snapped, his teeth bared. I straightened up and sat back down. As much as I wanted to leave the classroom, the students needed me here, just incase anything unfortunate happened.

"Weasley! Give me a curse!" Moody shouted.

"My dad told me about one...the Imperius Curse."

"Your dad would know all about that. Gave the Ministry some grief a few years ago. Perhaps this may show you why..." Moody pointed his wand at the spider.

"Engorgio..." the spider grew a fraction larger, "Imperio!" The spider was now under Moody's control. He began flicking his wand so that the spider would go around the room, onto different students. They were laughing, but this was no laughing matter. The Imperius Curse was deadly. Not to just yourself, but to people around you.

After Moody was done with the first spider and the first curse, he took out another. I knew exactly what curse was coming next. Neville Longbottom put his hand up slowly and answered Moody's question on another curse.

"The Cruciatus Curse..."

"Correct! Come! The torture curse." Neville reluctantly went with Moody and stood by his side. It was torture in itself having to watch a torture curse. Moody pointed his wand at the spider.

"Crucio." The spider began making a squealing noise, and its body twisted and turned in horrific ways. Neville was becoming more uncomfortable by the second. Most of the girls in the room looked on the verge of tears.

"Stop it!" I shouted, "it's bothering them, Professor, stop it now!" Moody suddenly bought his wand away from the spider and took out one more. He walked over to me and placed it on my desk. I stood up and glared at Moody.

"Perhaps you can give us the last curse, _Professor_ Snape?" I shook my head, a tear falling down my cheek. Moody gave one nod, pointed his wand at the spider and I swear I saw evil flicker upon his face for just a second.

"Avada Kedavara." With a shot of green light, the spider was dead. The whole room was silent, except for a few sobs coming from some of the girls.

"The killing curse. Only one person has survived it...and he's sitting in this room." Moody turned to look at Harry. This had been the most horrific lesson I had ever been in.

* * *

At the end of the day, I was sitting by myself, outside. I had to clear my head after a day of terrifying lessons. I was just about to head back to my office when someone sat next to me. Draco. He didn't say a word. He just sat there. I felt slightly better that he was here with me. Our friendship was something I used to treasure so much.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked softly. I nodded and felt tears coming. I wasn't alright. I had just seen three unforgivable curses.

"I could see how shaken up you were..."

"He had no right to do that in front of you, Draco. I'm sorry for not doing enough to stop it."

"You tried, at least." I smiled a little at Draco's words. He was a very good friend when he wanted to be.

"Mother and Father really missed you the last few days of holidays. Especially Father."

"I'm sorry, I had other things to do" I lied. I didn't want to see Lucius Malfoy ever again.

"I understand. I saw you the night you came over for dinner. You didn't want to be there and my father was putting you in an uncomfortable position."

"You're very mature when you want to be, Draco."

"I have to be mature...I'm a Malfoy." I laughed a little. Maybe I was getting my friend back.

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_**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter. We got to 155 reviews which was our goal! Lets try get to 167 this chapter! That's 12 reviews! We want to get to 200 reviews as soon as possible!**_

_**French Translation:**_

"Je ne suis pas autorisé à assister aux cours" - I'm not allowed to attend classes.

"Pourquoi est-ce là?" - Why is that?

"Madame Maxime pense que je suis trop jeune. Elle croit que je suis une distraction de fleur et que Fleur can't handle-moi. Elle se soucie de fleur mais elle n'a même pas de soins pour moi." - Madame Maxime thinks I am too young. She thinks I am a distraction for Fleur and that Fleur can't handle me. She cares for Fleur but she doesn't even care for me.

_**Next Chapter**_** - The Champion Selection. How is Isabel going to react when not only Fleur becomes a champion, but Harry as well? While Harry gets verbally attacked by teachers and students, Isabel comes to his defence. She goes and sees Sirius once again. **

_**Questions:**_

**Loved seeing your replies to last chapters questions!**

**Personally my answers would be -**

**Number 1 (Favourite part in DHP2): Snape's Memories and the end where Harry, Hermione and Ron are looking out while on the bridge just after the battle (after the part when Harry throws the Elder Wand away). Snape's memories were done perfectly! And that part where they are looking out while standing on the bridge was so sad for me because I could tell it was all coming to an end, but it was beautiful at the same time.**

**Number 2 (Actress to play Isabel): I'd say Nina Dobrev. If you don't know her, look her up!**

**This chapter's question - (I think I asked it ages ago but no one answered), Do you think Isabel is able to produce a patronus? And if so, what would her patronus be?**


	36. Champion Selection

**Thanks to: AuraJones, Florine, LadyFateContemplayingDisaster, toneale'anncurtis, UltimateLHOTP, Volleyballlover23, Nanettez, death_wish_girl, hi, writersofthegods & my friend going under the names of Snapeisabattywatty, ProfessorPoopyPants, DamonSalvatoreShirtless and ArcadeFireBOOM.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Queen Rowling is the owner of the wonderful world that is Harry Potter.**

* * *

Father, Minerva and I entered the hall together. Some students seemed to be very intimidated as we walked past them. We made our way up to the teacher's area and stood near the back. We were soon joined by Professor Flitwick. I felt bad for thinking that it was so funny that he was so small.

"Good evening" Flitwick said, greeting the three of us. Minerva gave him a nod, as did Father and then I gave him a nod just to finish things off.

"Good evening, Professor Flitwick" I said, not wanting to be rude. Fleur and Gabrielle waved at me from the Beauxbatons table and I smiled. I glanced at the Slytherin table to see Draco looking back and forth between Fleur, Gabrielle and myself. He was becoming too suspicious of everything to do with me. If I'm not careful, Draco will find out about what happened between Lucius and I. Dumbledore walked to the middle of the Hall and everyone went quiet. It was a tense feeling inside the Hall. I could see Fleur's hopeful place. She wanted this badly. Dumbledore placed his hand on the Goblet and moved back. The flame turned a bright colour and a piece of parchment shot out from the top. Dumbledore caught the parchment and read it carefully.

"The Durmstrang Champion is...Viktor Krum!" He announced. The Durmstrang area of the Hall cheered as Krum stood up, collected his parchment and shook Dumbledore's hand. He was lead over to us and in the door at the very back of the Hall. Suddenly, the Goblet's fire shone again and out shot another piece of parchment.

"The Beauxbatons Champion is..." Merlin's beard, here it comes, "Fleur Delacour!" My whole body froze as Father and Minerva looked at me. The Beauxbatons table erupted as Fleur stood up and followed what Krum did before her. She came up to where we were and gave me a brief smile. I couldn't manage a smile back. I knew this was coming, but it just hit me, and now Fleur was going to be in terrible danger. All I hoped for is that she was more than capable of handling it.

"Are you alright, dear?" Minerva asked me. I nodded.

"Yes, just a little bit of a shock, that's all" I replied. For the last time, the Goblet of Fire shot a piece of parchment out.

"The Hogwarts Champion is...Cedric Diggory!" I half smiled. Cedric Diggory was one of the better students I had in my classes last year. When I was in charge, he actually listened to me. He was smart, too. He knew what was going on most of the time. Cedric came past us quickly and went through the back door.

"Excellent! We have our three champions!" Dumbledore announced. He continued on about how glory and the Tri Wizard tournament would shape the three champions lives. Quite a cheesy speech really. And then I noticed it. The Goblet of Fire. It was acting quite peculiarly. The flames were shooting everywhere. Dumbledore hadn't noticed it until he saw the look on my face and Father's face. He turned to see another piece of parchment shooting up into the air. As he caught it and read it, his face changed to one of horror.

"Harry Potter..." My eyes widened, as did Minerva's. Harry Potter, my fourteen year old friend, had been selected as a champion. I felt my knees grow weak and I almost fainted. This couldn't be right. Harry could not have put his name in that Goblet. He isn't like that. Harry made his way through the crowd and collected the parchment from Dumbledore. He walked slowly through the crowd, to the jeers coming from his peers. He stopped in front of Father, Minerva and I. I half smiled at him and wanted to hug him, but it would be inappropriate. I patted him on the shoulder and he walked past us and through the door. The Great Hall was in shock. I was holding onto Minerva, trying to stand up straight. Madame Maxime and Igor Karkaroff were both going off their heads at how Hogwarts had two champions. Dumbledore wasn't possibly going to let Harry compete, was he?

* * *

As the students began leaving the Great Hall, Dumbledore, Mr Crouch, Madame Maxime, Karkaroff, Moody, Minerva, Father and I quickly went through the back door in the Great Hall. We walked down many steps to reach the room of ... Harry looked up at the adults bounding towards him, dumbfounded. Dumbledore walked over to Harry and patted him on the shoulder.

"Harry, answer me truthfully, did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire?" He asked calmly.

"No, sir, I didn't. I swear" Harry replied.

"Of course he's lying!" Madame Maxime exclaimed. I glared at her. How dare she speak about Harry in such a way.

"The hell he is!" Mad Eye shouted.

"He got through your age barrier somehow, Dumbledore!" Karkaroff snapped. Father then glared at Karkaroff. Was he defending Harry, or was it something else? The tension between the two was a little weird.

"Albus, did you ever think that someone of age put Potter's name into the Goblet under a fourth school? Maybe they would not want him to survive the tasks set out for the Champions" Moody said softly so that Harry couldn't hear.

"Zees eez absurd!" Madame Maxime spat, "Potter entered his name! He should be punished!" I rolled my eyes and turned to the Beauxbatons Headmistress.

"Shut it, Maxime" I growled. I was sick of this woman already.

"How dare you speak to me like that! You are barely of age!"

"I will speak to you in anyway I please when you accuse my friend, Harry of being a cheat. I believe Harry's word that he did not enter his name into the Goblet. Stop being such a bitch and think about how he's feeling for a second."

"Isabel, please! There is no need for that!" Dumbledore said. I glared at Madame Maxime, who seemed to be in shock that I had a voice.

"Barty, we'll leave this up to you, shall we?" Dumbledore said. Mr. Crouch turned away from the rest of us and sighed.

"The rules are absolute. The Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract. Mr. Potter has no choice but to compete. He is now a Tri Wizard Champion." Karkaroff and Madame Maxime let out a roar of disapproval.

"Zees eez ridiculous! Hogwarts gets an unfair advantage! Potter, you stupid boy! You will get everything that is coming een zees tournament!" That sent me over the edge. I lunged at the Headmistress of Beauxbatons before getting pulled back by my father and Minerva. Madame Maxime retreated, her eyes full of shock and began making her way out of the room.

"Pour qui vous prenez-vous de dire quelque chose comme cela à Harry ? La prochaine fois si vous le faites, je vous le jure, je vous renverrais au plus vite en France d'une maniére trés désagreable!" I yelled at her, being held back by Minerva and Father. Karkaroff, disturbingly, looked a little impressed. Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch were both standing there, their heads in their hands. Dumbledore walked over to me and sighed.

"Isabel!" Dumbledore said sternly. I then realised Fleur, Krum, Cedric and Harry were still in the room.

"Isabel, you cannot just go and say that to people of authority!" Father said sternly, "you will apologise."

"What did you say, Miss Snape?" Dumbledore asked.

"You don't want to know, Professor."

"I am not apologising to her. She said something bad about Harry and Harry is my friend. Whilst everyone else says that he did it I will support what he said. Harry said he did not enter his name in that Goblet and I will support him." Dumbledore gave me a small nod and turned to the four Champions.

"You are dismissed." The four nodded and began to leave the room. Fleur did not even give me one look as she left. Krum left the room with Karkaroff and Cedric and Harry left the room.

"I am sorry for all of this, Barty" Dumbledore said, shaking hands with Mr. Crouch.

"Don't worry about it, Albus. Makes for an interesting tournament, eh?" Dumbledore nodded and Mr. Crouch turned and left the room, leaving Dumbledore, Father, Moody, Minerva and I.

"You four, my office, immediately."

* * *

After a long travel up to Dumbledore's office, we stood there as he revealed a pensieve. The room was dark and slightly eerie. Moody stood at the back of the room and Father, Minerva and I stood in the middle of the room.

"Albus, you cannot let this happen!" Minerva exclaimed.

"What do you suggest I do, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked. Surely Dumbledore was not going to let this happen to Harry? This was a different Dumbledore I was seeing.

"Do not let Harry Potter compete! He is just a boy, Albus!"

"You heard Barty..."

"The devil with Barty! First the Dark Mark...and now this!" I completely agreed with Minerva. It was much too dangerous for Harry.

"Must I too find it difficult to believe this mere coincidence...however, if we are truly going to discover the meaning of these events, perhaps we should let it unfold..." Father said. I looked at my father, gaping at him in astonishment. How could he say that.

"No!" I said, "Minerva, I completely agree. Harry is just a boy, Professor Dumbledore. He has been through true horrors in his life. You cannot let him go through even more pain. Harry need protection and if you are letting him go into this tournament it will only be worse for him."

"I agree..." Dumbledore said. Minerva and I thought that we had finally knocked some sense into him, "with Severus. Alastor, keep an eye on Harry..." Minverva and I rolled our eyes I shrugged. What else was I supposed to say? Minerva stormed out of Dumbledore's office and I realised I was practically alone now. Father and Moody said their goodbye's to Dumbledore and left his office.

"Good night, Professor" I said.

"Wait, Isabel, I have a task for you to complete."

"Yes, Professor?"

"Can you please go and visit Sirius. Tell him that Harry is in the Tri Wizard Tournament..."

"Sir, I can hardly believe it! How am I supposed to tell Sirius about it?"

"You'll find a way, Miss Snape. Goodnight."

* * *

The next morning I got ready to go to Sirius' new hiding place. I was scared at how he was going to take the news. Apparently, Sirius never took bad news all that well. I took my wand off my desk and checked in the mirror to see if I looked nice or not. Wait...did I just check if I was looking nice for Sirius? I should't care if I look good for Sirius or not. Something was seriously wrong with me. Dumbledore had told me that the best place to apparate out of Hogwarts from was the Astronomy Tower, so I left my office and made my way up to the Astronomy Tower.

After apparating from Hogwarts, I found myself in a very small, cramped room. I looked up to see Sirius, standing there, his eyes wide.

"How did you get here?"

"Dumbledore told me to come. Look, Sirius, I have some...rather bad news."

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's Harry..." Sirius suddenly had a look of complete panic on his face. I found it sweet that Sirius cared so much for Harry. That's the whole reason I was so scared to tell him that Harry had been chosen to compete in one of the most dangerous magical tournaments in the world.

"Harry has been chosen to compete in the Tri Wizard tournament."

"Wait...what?"

"You heard me the first time, Sirius." Sirius sat down on the ground, which only had a rug on it. This was a far cry from the last place he was staying in.

"How can Dumbledore let him compete?" Sirius asked.

"I've already asked Dumbledore that question. But Dumbledore is adamant. Sorry..." I looked down to my right to see a wooden box, filled with rats. I jumped backwards and squealed.

"WHAT IS THAT?" I screamed.

"Oh...my breakfast...my lunch...and my dinner" Sirius replied. I couldn't believe it. Sirius was living off rats? That's bloody disgusting! How could he eat them? I didn't even want to think about it. Sirius seemed to be amused my how disgusting I thought it was.

"This is only temporary. Dumbledore said I can move back to Grimmauld Place, my supposed home, tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Yes, so you can go there next time you have to come and check up on me. I am so sick of Dumbledore at the moment! It's like he needs someone to watch over me every three seconds! And now he's not stopping this with Harry! It's ridiculous."

"I know how you feel. My sister's in the tournament too..."

"Wait, wait, wait. You have a sister? How many Snape's are there?" I laughed at his face that was full of horror.

"No, she's my half sister. Different dad's. I'm the only one." Sirius let out a huge sigh of relief. I felt a little offended.

"How are you?" Sirius asked. I was taken back by this. Since when did he care how I was feeling? Although, last time I turned up on Sirius' doorstep I was an absolute mess.

"I'm fine" I replied.

"Moony's not." I closed my eyes at the sound of his name. Him. He was always in the back of my mind. I wondered how he was...how he was doing...I couldn't help but think that I had wronged him. Maybe I would have been happier if I just entered a relationship with him. It had been ages since I had seen him. I missed him terribly.

"He's all depressed, Isabel. Whenever he comes to see me he's always moping about. He looks a lot more shabby than usual. He tells me that it's just because of his condition, but I know it's about you." I felt a tear run down my cheek as Sirius spoke.

"He's the one who wanted me to forget him, not the other way around."

"Isabel, he never thinks about this type of stuff...maybe you should just talk to him."

"I can't, Sirius. I can't see him. It'll just hurt me too much."

"You're both hurting now."

"Please, Sirius."

"Fine...but he misses you and he loves you. Just remember that." I do remember that. Everyday I remember the kiss...the smile...the eyes. No, I had to stop. I had to move on.

"Does it really hurt you that much to speak about him?" I nodded, feeling a little ashamed.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up..." Sirius sighed.

"I have to go" I said.

"Really?" Sirius said. I felt sorry for Sirius, as he was alone so often, but I really did have to go.

"I'll see you at Grimmauld Place in the next couple of days. See you later, Sirius." I gave him a small smile and apparated back to the Hogwarts Astronomy Tower.

As I walked back to my office, I felt different, like something good was about to come my way. I didn't know what form it was in, and I didn't know how it could possibly be good because I had been having an atrocious time lately, but I just felt that something good was about to come into my life, and I had to be ready for whatever it was going to be.

* * *

I was walking through the main corridor of Hogwarts before I was stopped by someone. He gave a loud cough and I turned to see who it was. Mad Eye Moody was standing before me. I didn't really want to speak to him, but he scared me enough to make me stay.

"Miss Snape, I want to talk to you regarding my lesson the other day..."

"How dare you talk to me about it. If you think I am going to let you conduct anything such as that again."

"They are my classes, Miss Snape, I decide what I teach."

"And you teach them by showing them the torture curse? Showing them death?"

"It's practical..."

"It is highly inappropriate and wrong" I spat back to Moody.

"If that is the way you feel than I have no need for you in my classes" Moody said.

"Fine. I do not want to teach with someone like you anyway."

"You do have quite a lot of nerve for just a little girl. I would hardly be fighting against someone such as me who has skills beyond anything you could ever imagine..."

"Are you threatening me, Professor?" I asked.

"Just warning you, not threatening." I glared at Moody once more before walking off. The guy was an absolute prick.

* * *

I was sitting behind my desk when a knock at my door came. I picked up my wand and flicked the door open to see Harry standing there looking pale. I stood up and rushed over to him, placing my hand on his cheek.

"Harry, are you okay?" Harry shook his head.

"It's late, Harry. You shouldn't be here..."

"Isabel, I can't do this" Harry said before falling into my arms. He sobbed on my shoulder, and I had no choice but to let him.

"This tournament isn't for me. I don't want this. Everything is going so wrong. Ron hates me. Everyone hates me." Ron hates Harry? I found it hard to believe. Ron and Harry are best friends, so it didn't make any sense at all for this to be happening. I hated seeing Harry sad after all that he's been through. I sat Harry down at a chair and pulled one up next to him.

"If only Professor Lupin was here" Harry sighed, "it would be so much easier."

"If only" I mumbled.

"Are you okay, Harry? After Moody's lesson?"

"I can't deny that it's shaken me up a bit..."

"Yes...that makes two of us. I'm sorry that I didn't help. I tried, but the man just would have crushed me as if I were a leaf or something. I know that the killing curse is not something that you would have wanted to see."

"What do I do, Isabel? About the tournament?"

"I tried to let Dumbledore to let you off the tournament, but he said you must compete. All I can say to you, Harry, is that you have to be smart in this tournament. You must think about your decisions before you make them."

"Will you help me? Will you help me if I get into any trouble?" Harry's eyes pleaded for me to say yes, and there was no way I could say no.

"Always, Harry. I will always protect you."

* * *

The next day I was walking through the corridors of Hogwarts, making sure everything was okay. Dumbledore was obviously scared about the reputation of the school, so he told us Hogwarts staff that if we saw anything that should not be happening that we had to stop it.

"Isabel!" I heard a voice call from behind me. I turned to see Fleur. I smiled at my younger sister.

"Good morning..."

"What was that?" Fleur asked, her tone sharp.

"What do you mean?"

"What you said to Madame Maxine...you 'ave been very mean to her."

"Fleur, are you blind or something? First, she neglected Gabrielle, which is not on! She is a child and she needs to be nurtured. You have to take care of her while she is here, Fleur."

"I am taking care of her!"

"No, no your not. Your following your Headmistress around like a little puppy. Speaking of your Headmistress, she is a piece of work..."

"Isabel! She eez a very good person!"

"No, she isn't. Didn't you hear what she said about Harry? Harry is just a boy, Fleur. You are seventeen. Harry is fourteen. And you know something else, Harry is scared."

"You are overreacting" Fleur said.

"Am I? Am I really? How I see it is that my youngest sister, who I have never known, is coming to me and asking me if she can stay with me. She's coming to me and holding on to me like I have been there for years. She needs you, Fleur. I am not able to provide some things for Gabrielle. I had to take her to see one of my house elf friends so she'd have a friend around here because I don't have the time I'd like to spend with her."

"Are you asking me to take care of her all the time?"

"I am asking you to be her older sister. I am asking you to be there for her when she needs it. It's not a hard job, Fleur, it really isn't." Fleur stared at me for a second, before shaking her head and turning her back on me. It was a very Fleur thing to do. She hated confrontation. Before she walked off, I grabbed her arm.

"Gabrielle is not an accessory, Fleur" I told Fleur. Fleur shrugged out of my hold and walked off. I hoped she had got the message.

* * *

As I made my way down the stairs to the dungeons, I felt a tug on the back of my dress.

"Miss Isabel!" I turned and smiled at Dobby, the house elf.

"Hello Dobby, what can I do for you?"

"Dobby has two notes for Miss Isabel!" Dobby passed me the notes and smiled.

"Thank you, Dobby. How was Gabrielle the other day?"

"Miss Gabrielle is a very nice girl. Dobby spent more time with Miss today. Dobby and Miss played a game and Dobby took Miss Gabrielle to the lake."

"How lovely. Thank you, Dobby. It's very important that Gabrielle has a friend."

"Dobby will do anything for Miss Isabel." I smiled once more at Dobby.

"See you later, Dobby."

* * *

I sat down behind my desk in my office and exhaled slowly. It had been quite a day. I was beginning to worry that Fleur now hated me for what I said about Gabrielle to her, but she had to hear it. It seemed like Fleur had no sense of responsibility anymore. I took out the notes that Dobby gave to me and opened the first one. There wasn't a heap of writing, which was good, because I didn't feel like reading.

_**Isabel,**_

_**Thank You. I missed our conversations and such. **_

_**It's good to have someone intelligent to talk to sometimes.**_

_**Draco.**_

I smiled, remembering the way Draco was so sympathetic towards me after that horrific first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Moody. I had missed my time with Draco, too. Under all those layers actually was a boy who had feelings...who cared. I put down Draco's letter and opened the second note.

_**Isabel,**_

_**Meet me tomorrow night at 10PM in the forest.**_

_**Don't tell anyone else.**_

_**Charlie.**_

Charlie! One of my best friends wanted to meet me tomorrow night! How I had missed him dearly. I was not going to be able to sleep, as I was so very excited to see him again.

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Its a little clear to us all now that Isabel despises Madame Maxime because of her treatment of Gabrielle. And Isabel still can't get rid of Remus in her head...but maybe someone is making her feel better?**

**Guys, I do realise that I made a mistake last chapter! It was supposed to be in this chapter, but it then somehow ended up in that one. Thanks to the people that pointed it out!**

**French Translator: Thank you to for help with the translation!**

"Pour qui vous prenez-vous de dire quelque chose comme cela à Harry! La prochaine fois si vous le faites, je vous le jure, je vous renverrais au plus vite en France d'une maniére trés désagreable!" - You stupid woman, If you ever say anything like that ever again I'll send you back to France the fastest way in a really displeasing way.

(Said by Isabel to Madame Maxime)

**Next Chapter: Isabel meets up with her good friend, Charlie. Talks with Harry over the tournament. Fleur apologises. And most importantly, the First Task! How will Isabel react to not only Fleur being in danger, but Harry as well?**

**Questions:**

**Last Chapter's Question was, Can Isabel Produce a Patronus? And if so, what is it?**

**Isabel can produce a patronus, and I got many great answers, such as a fox, a wolf (her love for Remus...), a butterfly and an eagle. However, her patronus is actually a Phoenix. This is because phoenix's are brave, and her heart is pure. She has fears, but she is able to overcome them for the ones she loves. This may change...just wait and see.**


	37. Fear and The First Task

**Thanks to: LadyFateContemplatingDiaster, death_wish_girl, hi, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, HPFan & Writersofthegods for their reviews of last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The night had come for me to meet Charlie in the forest. I had missed my very close friend. I had also been very worried about him. Studying dragons isn't exactly a safe profession. As I searched for a traveling cloak, I picked up the coat that Lucius had bought for me. I felt disgusted while holding it. I took out my wand and pointed it at the fireplace

"Incendio." As the fire began, I threw the coat in there. I didn't want to look at it again. The memories of Lucius had to go, if they didn't, I would probably go insane. I walked over to my jewelry box and took out the necklace that Lucius had given me. I went back to the fireplace and threw the necklace in there. All that was left to remind me of Lucius now was Draco...and I couldn't ever get rid of him. I left the fire to burn the items. I found my traveling cloak and checked the clock. It was time to go.

* * *

I walked down to the forest by myself. I felt a little scared, as it wasn't a pleasant place to be.

"Lumos" I whispered, holding out my wand. I continued walking, and I could hear noises. Loud noises. This made me even more jumpy than before.

"Oi, watch where you're putting that wand" came a voice from in front of me. The person held up a light to his face and grinned. My face lit up as I put my wand away and threw myself into Charlie's waiting arms. He was warm, and he was as welcoming as ever. Charlie let go and smiled at me.

"How are you, my dear Isabel?" He asked.

"I'm better now that you've arrived. Why are you here? It's a little weird for you to be visiting Hogwarts in the school year." I saw Charlie's face and slowly regretted saying that, "no, not that I have a problem with you being here. You're one of my closest friends!" All of a sudden, Charlie just laughed.

"What's so funny, Charlie?"

"You are. You instantly thought I was upset with you! I'm just joking around. You getting all professor on us?"

"No, don't be stupid. Tonks and Bill have already told me that already." Charlie laughed and shook his head.

"I've missed you, Isabel."

"I've missed you, too. Now, will you tell me what we are doing in the forest at this time of night? Not another one of Molly's matchmaking scheme's I hope." Charlie laughed. Yes, it had happened before. Molly would send letters to Bill, Charlie and Percy, telling them to work out between the three of them which one would date me. I wouldn't be surprised if she got Fred and George in on the act sooner or later. Molly was sweet...I knew that she wanted me to be apart of the family, but at the same time it was a little creepy.

"No, mum isn't trying to set us up. I have something rather important to show you."

"And what would that be?"

"You'll just have to follow me and see, won't you?" I half smiled at Charlie, but at the same time I didn't trust him. It was very suspicious.

* * *

Charlie was leading me deeper into the forest, and both of us froze when we heard what sounded like a very big creature. A smile crept up Charlie's lips as he looked over to me. All of a sudden, he lead me around a corner to reveal dragons. Freaking dragons.

"What the bloody hell is this?" I asked.

"Tri Wizard Tournament, first task."

"Dragons? What? No! Charlie, Harry can't go up against a dragon." Charlie sighed and placed his hands on both of my shoulders, trying desperately to calm me down. I was losing it by the second, but I had a good reason to! There was no freaking way Harry was going to be able to battle a dragon. Fleur, too. What did Fleur know about dragons and how to combat them?

"It's not your decision, Isabel. These dragons may be dangerous, but they are supposed to be able to battle things like this. As for Harry, he's defeated You-Know-Who, if he doesn't beat a dragon I won't know what to think." My mouth hung open. Did Charlie seriously just say that?

"Charlie, that was very insensitive of you."

"Oh, Isabel, he'll be fine!"

"They are dragons, Charlie. Dragons."

"I work with them everyday."

"Harry doesn't!"

"Isabel, I can't do anything about it." My eyes widened as I scanned the area around me. All I could see was fire. There were mighty roars coming from the dragons. Charlie looked amazed by the creatures, but I was scared. They were huge and breathing out fire and one of them had a horn that was so sharp I nearly fell backwards. Charlie grabbed my hand and pulled me further towards them.

"Charlie," I said uncomfortably, "I don't want to go closer."

"Why?"

"They're...they're scary" I replied, feeling idiotic and slightly like a five year old that had just woken from a nightmare.

"Oh, Isabel, you're with me. They can't hurt you." He pulled me closer towards the dragons, and my heart began to beat rapidly. As I took in the beats surrounding me, I closed my eyes. I heard the roar's coming from the dragons and the shouts coming from the wizards that brought them over here. This is what fear sounded like to me. I opened my eyes and glanced at Charlie, who was still looking at the dragon's in amazement.

"I'd like to go...if that's alright" I said softly. Charlie half smiled and squeezed my hand.

"I understand." As we walked further and further from the dragons, the sound of fear became silent.

* * *

Charlie and I stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The moon was out tonight...it was getting closer to a full moon. My head went back to Remus, but I tried to block him out quickly. I had to remember to move on. Charlie pulled me into a tight hug and held me there. We had not seen each other for a while, but it was good to know that we still could share these moments. Like an older brother protecting his younger sister. Charlie pulled back and grinned.

"I guess I'll see you around. I hope it's sooner rather than later. I've missed you" Charlie said.

"I've missed you too, Charlie" I replied. I began taking steps backwards, and Charlie waved his hands at me.

"Go, before I begin to cry in front of you" he said. I laughed and turned my back to Charlie. It was good to see him again.

* * *

It was the night before the first task. I was increasingly nervous for both Harry and Fleur. How were they supposed to do battle a dragon? I wondered if Harry and Fleur knew about the dragons. Fleur still wasn't talking to me. I guess it was a mix of the way I talked to Madame Maxime and the way I told her off for using Gabrielle as an object. I didn't care for fighting with her. She was only going to run back home at the end of the year. There was a knock at my door, so I flicked my wand for it to open. Standing there was a pale looking Harry.

"Harry" I sighed. The poor kid must be feeling terrible. Harry walked in slowly and sat on the other side of my desk.

"I guess it would be stupid to ask how your feeling" I said softly. Harry nodded and his eyes lowered.

"What is it, Harry?" I asked. It was obvious he knew something and that he wasn't comfortable in revealing what he knew. Harry looked around the room, worry in his eyes. Everyone took Harry as this person who could conquer everything...who could take on the world without any fear. They were completely wrong. Harry was a boy. A boy who was frightened. Harry was incredibly brave, there was no doubt about it. If I could ever be as brave as anyone, it would be Harry.

"It's dragons" Harry said softly. Merlin's beard, Harry knew.

"How did you find out?" I asked.

"Hagrid...Hagrid told me. Wait, you knew?"

"What?"

"You knew about the dragons and you didn't tell me? I thought if anyone was going to tell me it would be you, Isabel." This is what I didn't need. Not at the moment.

"Harry, I am not allowed to tell anyone anything. Charlie Weasley showed me and I swore I wouldn't tell anyone. I didn't even tell Fleur! Harry, you must know that if I was allowed to tell you that I would have" I said, hoping that he would believe me. Harry looked down and nodded slowly. I understood why Harry was so on edge. He had to battle a dragon tomorrow.

"Do you have a plan, Harry?" I asked. He better have a plan, because if he didn't I would have to sit here until the early hours of tomorrow and help him. Harry nodded, thankfully.

"Yeah, I do." There was another knock at my door and Harry jumped.

"Come in" I called out. Harry turned towards the door to see Fleur walking in. He stood up and half smiled at me.

"I probably won't see you tomorrow before...before it happens" Harry said. I nodded.

"Goodnight, Harry" I said softly. Harry walked past Fleur and left my office. Fleur had a sour look on her face. She stomped up to my desk and sat down into the seat behind my desk. Her eyes were more dull than I've ever seen them. I could see it on her too...the fear. I didn't know if she knew about the dragons. If she didn't know, I would have to try so hard not to tell her.

"What was 'Arry Potter doing 'ere?" Fleur asked in a bitter tone.

"Harry is my friend and he was here because he is scared about the tournament. Don't even think about using that tone with me again, Fleur." Fleur rolled her eyes and sat back in the chair, as if I told her to get comfortable and make herself at home.

"You are only two years older than me, you are not Mother" Fleur snapped. Bloody hell, she was like one of my annoying students.

"You are younger than me, therefore you will respect me. What has gotten into you? Harry is not your enemy and neither am I. What is Maxime putting into your head, Fleur?" Fleur looked as if someone just shot her with a stunning spell. She went silent and I went silent. She seemed as if she were contemplating something, something that had been on her mind for a while. Fleur had always been so compassionate when we were children. What had changed?

"Headmistress Maxime used to be nice. Before we came to Hogwarts. We got 'ere and she changed. She wanted us to not make any friends. She wants us to win the Tri Wizard Tournament so badly that she thought about entering someone of age under our school...a twenty three year old working as staff. She eez now greedy. She told me that Gabrielle eez a distraction, and that you are too." Merlin's bloody beard. Was Fleur serious? What kind of school was Maxime running? Gabrielle would have to suffer with that woman for the next few years.

"Are you serious?" I asked. Fleur nodded sadly.

"She's been keeping me up for the past new nights, making a strategy" Fleur said. So, Maxime was doing this all because she wanted one of her students to win the Tri Wizard Tournament. She makes Dumbledore look like an angel.

"She keeps telling me about ze dragons, too."

"So you know about the dragons for the first task?" I asked. Fleur nodded and sighed.

"I do not wish to do this. I only wanted to come and make friends. I should be allowed, oui?"

"Oui" I replied sadly.

"I would never use Gabrielle as an...an..." Fleur started to say.

"Accessory?"

"Oui. That's eet. I am sorry. You and Gabrielle mean more to me than a tournament." Fleur's eyes were sad, but I didn't know why. There was something happening that I didn't know about. It was obvious. All I wanted was for my sister to know she wasn't alone and that I would always be there to help her. However, I was scared that I wouldn't be able to back up my words one day.

"Fleur, you have a big day tomorrow. You...you should go" I told her. Fleur nodded, stood up and left my office slowly. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

Father and I arrived at the arena in which the First Task would be held. We made our way to the stand that the staff, the ministry officials and the journalists were sitting in. We felt the glares coming from both Karkaroff and Maxime. Father told me to ignore it, but he didn't tell me why. I knew why Maxime was upset...but Karkaroff was a different story. I had no idea what was going on with the guy. Father and I sat in the front row of the stand. Minerva also joined us and sat to my right.

"How are you feeling?" Minerva asked.

"What? Nothing, of course. Its not me competing"

"What you are saying is that your fine, even though your younger sister and one of your close friends is to battle a dragon." Minerva raised her eyebrows. She had caught me.

"Fine, I'm terrified. How is Fleur supposed to beat a dragon, let alone Harry?"

"They'll find a way, dear." I heard a scoff come from the person sitting beside my father.

"The Potter boy will not be able to defeat a dragon! 'E eez only a small boy!" Maxime said, almost laughing.

"Maxime, I swear..." I began to say before I felt a strong grip on my arm. I looked to see Father's hand on my arm.

"Don't say anything you will end up regretting" Father said sternly.

"Did you just hear her?"

"Yes, I did. I am not a deaf dunderhead. Let it go. You will only make it worse" he told me. I gave in, nodding. My father was correct, once again. It had come to my attention that I hadn't been spending a whole heap of time with my father the past few days. It was a little sad. I felt as if we were drifting further and further apart. It was disappointing, because I thought we had made so much of an effort to become close. Suddenly, there was a sound of a cannon, and Cedric Diggory walked out of the tent.

* * *

Cedric impressed me. Although, it wasn't hard to be impressed when someone battles a dragon successfully. He transfigured a rock into a dog to distract his dragon. Minerva seemed very happy with her student, that was until the dragon turned its attention back to Cedric. Cedric narrowly got through the task, but he still did it, which was a major accomplishment. Dumbledore also seemed happy with Cedric's efforts, but seemed a little on edge.

"The next champion to take on their dragon is...Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!" Madame Maxime and the Beauxbatons students erupted. I applauded as my sister made her way out of the tent, but I felt as if I was going to be sick. The dragon roared at Fleur, and I grabbed my father's arm. Fleur walked out even further into the arena and took out her wand. The dragon roared once more, as if it was her final warning. That sent me into panic mode. I looked to the Beauxbatons students and saw Gabrielle, who was clinging on to the girl next to her. She seemed on the verge of tears. Fleur then flicked her wand, said something that I couldn't make out and the dragon fell asleep. Ah, the bewitched sleep. How the bloody hell did she manage to bewitch a dragon to sleep? It was an extremely hard spell.

"See, she's fine" Minerva said, patting my arm. That only made me cling to my father that much harder. The dragon then snored, and Fleur's skirt caught fire. I gasped, hoping she'd put it out straight away. She did. Fleur then collected the golden egg to my relief. I stood up and applauded my sister, smiling down at her. She looked up at me with a smile and quickly left the arena. Krum came out soon after and made quick work of the dragon. Karkaroff seemed pleased, but something wasn't right about him. He seemed to have that look on his face...the look that was hiding something.

* * *

"The last champion to battle their dragon is Harry Potter of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Harry stepped out into the arena and took a look at the crowd. It was like he didn't know what to make of it. He walked forward and the dragon roared. The dragon's tail whipped around and almost hit Harry. I screamed quietly and grabbed Minerva's hand. I heard someone scream something at Harry, but I couldn't make out what it was. Harry grabbed his wand pointed it at the sky and said something. Harry then ran, and ran, and ran before his broom appeared. Harry jumped on and began to rear away from the dragon. I would have clapped if I wasn't frozen stiff by fear.

"Great Scott, he can fly! Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?" Someone cried out from behind me. Karkaroff and Maxime looked pretty pissed off that Harry actually achieved something. Harry flew towards the golden egg and before I knew it, he held the egg in his hands and the task was finished. I let go of Minerva's hand and sighed. I was so thankful that Harry and Fleur weren't hurt. The final scores game through. Harry finished tied for first with Krum, Cedric second and Fleur last. I was happy for Harry, but I was worried about how Fleur was going to react to this news.

* * *

That night, I stormed into Dumbledore's office, and was very angry. Harry was nearly killed by a dragon during his attempt at trying to get the egg. Dumbledore looked up from his desk and seemed surprised to see me. He smiled, but knew how angry I was. I slammed my hand on Dumbledore's desk and looked him straight in the eye.

"How could you let Harry compete?" I asked, venom unintentionally filling my voice.

"Good evening, Isabel" Dumbledore replied calmly.

"Harry is a young boy and he nearly got killed by a dragon!"

"He won the task, Isabel."

"He almost died, Dumbledore! You can't let him complete the tournament, because he'll end up dead. He doesn't have the capacity to do this."

"You highly underestimate him."

"No, no I don't. I know how talented he is, Headmaster. I know how bright he is. He is also very fragile and needs protecting."

"He has plenty of people protecting him...including me." Dumbledore gave me a soft smile and gave my right hand a pat, which was still on his desk. "My dear, you and I both know that I would never let Harry left by himself to face danger. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it, and those who need it." I nodded, getting the message. I knew Dumbledore would never let harm come to Harry...I guess I was just distressed. I turned my back to Dumbledore and left his office, knowing that even though I wanted Harry to not compete in the tournament, that there was no way he couldn't.

* * *

**A/N: That was a shorter chapter, and I feel a little guilty about it. Writer's block and the number of reviews for last chapter played it's part in finishing this chapter off. I'm unhappy with it, to tell you the truth.**

**Now, I was a little disappointed. We were going so well with reviews! And then for this chapter, suddenly, there was only 6! Come on guys, reviews are the things that keep me motivated with this story!**

**Next Chapter - She goes to see Sirius at Grimmauld Place. She has a run in with Kreacher. She spends some time with Gabrielle and then spends some time with Draco. And she receives a letter from...wait for it...Remus! What will happen?**

**This chapters question - Why do you think Isabel is so protective of Harry?**


	38. Not Again

**Thanks to: **_**LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, Writersofthegods, death_wish_girl, Julia, ThoughtVortex, UltimateLHOTPFan, HPFan, HerAwesomeness, TheWomanInBlack & MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE for their reviews of last chapter.**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The next day I woke to see someone sitting on the other end of my bed. I sat up to see Gabrielle smiling at me. It was a little weird that she was in here considering my door was locked and I've charmed it so that Alohomora won't work. Gabrielle wouldn't know Alohomora anyway. I looked at her with a confused expression, trying to work out how exactly she got into my room.

"Good morning, Isabel!" Gabrielle said enthusiastically.

"How did you get in here?" I asked. Gabrielle giggled a little bit and clasped her hands together.

"Dobby helped me een. Dobby said that 'e knows some way to get into your office and other people cannot do it" she replied. Of course, my friend, the house elf that I introduced her to helped her in. I got out of bed and walked out of my private quarters into my office.

"You are still wearing your night clothes" Gabrielle pointed out. I told Gabrielle to wait in here while I got ready in my private quarters. I slipped on the usual and left my hair as it was. I didn't care about my appearance. I had come to realise that no matter how little or how much effort I put into the way I looked, people would still find me better looking than most people. The Veela genes sometimes became an inconvenience for me. I walked back out and Gabrielle was sitting there, smiling.

"Is there something you need, Gabrielle?" I asked.

"Yes, I would like to spend time with you" Gabrielle replied, grinning. I wasn't up to doing a lot today. I wanted to relax, but Gabrielle was here, wanting to make up lost time. I guess that was a good reason to spend time with my little sister.

"Alright then. How about I take you for a walk down to the lake. Have you been down there yet?" Gabrielle shook her head and stood up.

"Sounds good, then." I grabbed my wand and left my office, Gabrielle right behind me.

* * *

Gabrielle and I walked out of the castle and into the grounds. Gabrielle's eyes were darting around the area, admiring Hogwarts. I was like her once. I spent the whole of my first year admiring the scenery. Hogwarts was a beautiful place, and it was home. It was home to me, it was home to the students and it was home to the staff. One thing we always knew was, no matter how bad things would get, Hogwarts would always be here. It would always be that shelter that we needed. Gabrielle reached out for my hand, and I grasped hers tightly. Her face lit up as her bright eyes looked into my dark ones.

"Your eyes are very beautiful" Gabrielle said.

"So are yours" I replied.

"Mère tells me that we are good looking because we are Veela."

"She's right" I told Gabrielle. Gabrielle had a look of uncertainty on her face, and that worried me.

"What's wrong, Gabrielle?" I asked.

"What if I do not turn out beautiful like you and Fleur?" She asked me, her tone desperate. Why was she looking for approval with her looks? She knew that she was going to turn out like Fleur and I.

"Why would you ask me that?"

"Mother will...she will...if I don't turn out like you and Fleur she'll be disappointed with me. She'll kick me out or something, won't she?" I stopped Gabrielle and turned her to face me. I put my hands on her shoulders and went down to her level.

"I don't ever want you thinking like that. You are beautiful now, and you will always be beautiful. Mother cannot ever take that away from you, and neither can your father. If she ever does something to you like that, you just call me or come find me. There will always be a place for you with me." Gabrielle smiled and hugged me tightly.

"I love you, Isabel. You are a good sister" Gabrielle whispered.

"I love you, too" I replied back. Gabrielle let go and took my hand again.

"Come on, lets go to the lake" I said.

Gabrielle and I spent the next few hours sitting on the edge of the lake, talking and sharing stories. Gabrielle was quite the intellectual person for an eight year old. Although Gabrielle was reassuring me everything was alright back home, I couldn't help but wonder how Mother and her idiot husband was treating Gabrielle.

* * *

I was walking back to my office when suddenly an arm grabbed out at me and held my wrist tightly. I was about to whip my wand out when I realised it was Draco. I sighed a breath of relief and shook my head.

"Draco, what the hell were you doing?" I asked.

"Sorry, it's just...sorry" he replied.

"It's fine. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to talk to you, that's all" Draco said.

"Really?" Draco nodded.

"Come on, let's go for a walk" I said. Draco half smiled as we began to make our way down the corridor. I wondered if Draco missed these times. It used to be less complicated. Now with what happened with Lucius and what happened with the whole 'blood traitor Weasley' thing, the tension was there. Students noticed it too, the way we were around each other. I didn't dare say anything to make Draco upset anymore. He would tell his Father...and I'd be in deep shit.

"I'm sorry for what I did to our friendship. I want to make up for all the stuff I did to you. I don't have any decent friends that don't follow me around like a puppy apart from you." I laughed a little. I felt a little guilty for laughing, but it seemed Draco wasn't taking my laughing well.

"Did I offend you?" Draco shook his head and shrugged at me.

"What's wrong, Draco?" Draco didn't want to make eye contact with me for some reason. What did I do? His pale skin became even more pale, and I became worried.

"Draco, you are scaring me. What's wrong?"

"Father was angry when you were away. He took me to the Quidditch World Cup. After we came home from there, he became more angry. He shouted at my mother all the time. He got drunk continuously. He almost hit me. I told Mother we should leave, but she said it'd make it worse." Draco's dull eyes looked to the ground. I did this...I was the one who made Lucius like this. Now Narcissa and Draco were paying for it. I wished I knew a way to stop this.

"Draco...Draco I'm so sorry."

"What are you apologising for? My father obviously did something wrong to you too. I don't blame you for not coming back after that dinner." Draco looked over my shoulder and he coughed. I turned to see Pansy Parkinson and Gregory Goyle standing there, staring that both of us.

"I should go" Draco said softly. I nodded as Draco walked past me to join his 'friends'.

* * *

I was called to Dumbledore's office that evening, not knowing why. I made my way to the Headmaster's office to see Dumbledore, sitting back in his chair, eating. He motioned me to come forward, but I was hesitant for some reason.

"Isabel, I will not bite, come here" Dumbledore said. I walked forward and sat down on the other side of his desk.

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"I thought you that I should remind you of Sirius' whereabouts. He has moved back into his family home, 12 Grimmauld Place, London."

"Oh, right. I forgot" I said. It was true, I had forgotten.

"You can use my floo" Dumbledore said, with a smile.

"I didn't plan on going now...but I guess I have no choice in the matter now. Have you got something to say, Professor?" I asked, not trusting him.

"How are you and Sirius getting along?"

"Fine, Sir."

"Fine?"

"Sir?"

"Nevermind, Miss Snape." Dumbledore nodded towards the fireplace. I walked over to the fireplace, took out floo powder and left the Headmaster's offce.

* * *

I arrived in a dark room. I walked out of the fireplace to see the dark walls and the dark floors. It wasn't exactly a welcoming feeling. I wondered where Sirius was, because I had never been in this house before. I walked slowly to the door, when it suddenly opened. Standing there was a house elf. It was a lot older looking than Dobby, and a lot scarier looking, too.

"Master Sirius is waiting in the drawing room" the house elf said, his voice full of disdain.

"Hello" I said cautiously to the house elf, "what's your name?" The house elf's eyes went dark and it made a sort of growling noise.

"YOU FILTHY HALF BLOOD! GET OUT OF MY MISTRESS'S HOUSE!" The house elf screamed at me. I jumped back in terror and my eyes grew wide.

"KREACHER! Away with you!" Someone yelled. Sirius came into the doorway and Kreacher gave a small bow to Sirius before walking away. Sirius had a house elf? Sirius walked into the room and sighed at the sight of me. What was wrong? I didn't do anything, I thought.

"I'm sorry about him. Kreacher never was very pleasant." I felt sorry for Sirius. He had never talked about his childhood. I would hate to think what he went through as a child. He had a terrible mother, his whole family were against anything but the Pure-Blood ways. It is amazing that Sirius had turned out to be the decent person he is...even with that time in Azkaban. I hoped the world would get to hear the truth one day.

"I see you've decided to get rid of that ghastly beard that you had...clean shaven, I like it" I said, smiling. Sirius grinned at me, and I swear there was a small twinkle in his eye.

"I knew you'd like it, which is exactly why I did it" Sirius replied, giving me a wink. "Come on, lets get out of this room. It makes me feel depressed." I nodded, understanding what he meant. It wasn't exactly pleasant in here. It was more of a gloomy feeling that made you quiet and feel unhappy. Sirius brought me into another room, which was a little lighter than the one we had just left. This house seemed like no one had been living in here for a while. It was dirty and rotten. The walls had mould growing on it and there were cobwebs everywhere.

"This was where I grew up as a boy" Sirius said. I looked around at the interior. How could a child grow up in this house? I sat on a couch, which seemed very old and a little unstable. "My mother...she wasn't the most caring of women" Sirius said as he sat down next to me. "Pureblood mania...that was all that she cared about. She wanted to keep a good reputation for the family. As did my father. Regulus believed the crap that came out of their mouths and I didn't. When my mother found out that I had been sorted into Gryffindor..." Sirius began to look as if something had just stabbed him. Pain was all over his face.

"I was eleven. The first time I came home...the summer break...she - ah - this was a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be" Sirius said. I gave him a small smile and touched his arm lightly, which seemed to startle him more than anything.

"You don't have to tell me" I said in a half whisper. Sirius gave me a nod and sat back in the seat.

"When I came home for the summer break she took me into the study...she took out a cane and she beat me." I gasped as Sirius' eyes grew darker. His own mother beat him because of the house he was sorted into...it was hard to believe. But then again, it wasn't. Sirius' family had a bad reputation among most, but with the Pureblood world, I believe the Black's were among the most prestigious families in the Wizarding World.

"I'm sorry, Sirius."

"Why are you apologising? You didn't beat me! The woman was a bitch. The whole family were full of absolute Pureblood maniacs...except Andromeda." I smiled, thankful that Sirius knew what a good person Andromeda was.

"I didn't have an easy childhood, if that makes it any easier. It wasn't anywhere as difficult as yours, but it was still more difficult than a child should have to go through."

"Really? What happened?"

"My step-father thought I was his child. Mother made me lie to him throughout my childhood. I thought my mother was loving and caring. That was until I realised not long ago that she was lying to make herself feel better. I was kicked out a few days after my eleventh birthday, made to live with my father. He was cold at first. For the first few years I didn't want to cross his path."

"Let me guess, it got better? I don't understand how you can stand to be around Sniv..._him._" I rolled my eyes. Sirius could be childish sometimes. That was one of the things that made me so annoyed by him. I quite liked the other side of Sirius...the one I saw before.

"Sorry" Sirius whispered, noticing the look on my face.

"Apology accepted" I replied. It was nice to know that he knew when he had made me upset.

"Have you stopped living off rats?" I asked brightly, trying to change the subject. Sirius laughed a little, the frown coming off his face.

"Yes, I'm proud to say that I am now eating proper food" Sirius replied.

"Good," I laughed, "because if you were still living off rats, I would have to stop all contact with you. It was really disgusting, Sirius."

"I realise that now. But, hey, I'm here and I'm alive. Got to thank the rats for that." Sirius grinned at me, and I found myself grinning back like an idiot. Sirius was charming. Nobody on the face of this earth could deny that fact. The problem was, however, that I seemed to like Sirius a bit too much. This couldn't be good. How could I like Sirius more than a friend...he was Remus' best friend for Merlin's sakes!

"You alright?" Sirius asked me. I snapped out of it and looked at him.

"I'm fine, really" I lied. I wasn't fine. I liked him more than I should, and it was worrying.

"So, you going to take me on a tour of the house?" I asked. Sirius looked uncomfortable.

"I'd rather you not..."

"Why?"

"The house is a dump. I just got back."

"Are you going to make any effort to clean it up? Or will I have to do that?"

"I am not making you clean up any of this. You might get sick from something and die. I can't have that in my head forever" Sirius laughed. I saw the house elf, Kreacher, glare at me through the door. He wasn't at all like Dobby. He wasn't willing to do anything for you. Not to mention he called me a filthy half-blood.

"What's the story with Kreacher?" I asked. Sirius saw Kreacher at the door. He was about to get up to go after him, but the house elf just bowed and walked away slowly.

"There's no story. He's just a bitter old house elf."

"Am I supposed to believe that?"

"Believe whatever you want, Isabel, that's all your getting out of me. How's Harry?" Sirius wanted to change the subject, I just had to accept it. However, I just found myself in another problem. How was I supposed to tell Sirius that Harry fought a dragon in the Tri Wizard Tournament? He'll faint or something.

"Uh..." Sirius raised his eyebrow at me. He knew I wasn't telling him something.

"Harry...well...he's good. He had the first task the other day in the tournament."

"And?"

"He, well, he had to fight a...a dragon" I said, stuttering through my sentence. Sirius' eyes widened.

"What?"

"Yeah, that was my reaction at first, too. He's alive though!"

"He fought a bloody dragon?"

"I said that before" I replied, not really knowing what to say. Sirius sat there, processing this information. After thirty seconds of complete silence, all he did was nod. It was now my turn to change the subject now.

"Sirius...seeing as your back on your feet now...maybe I should stop coming to see you. It's too much of an inconvenience for you" I said. Sirius' face changed at my comment. He seemed disappointed. Why would he be disappointed? I was just a little girl coming to check up on him after all. _'Are you listening to yourself, Isabel? You are making excuses for yourself. A little girl? I thought you hated when people called you that. It's time to accept the feelings that you have and stop trying to make excuses. Time to start moving on from the man that left you.' _I wanted for my head to shut up. I wanted my head to be wrong. Problem for me was, that my head was exactly right.

"Oh," Sirius said, "I've quite enjoyed you visiting me. You're not an inconvenience. You're good to have around." My eyes were darting around the room, as I was trying not to listen to what Sirius was saying. It was incredibly rude.

"I think you should continue coming here, I enjoy it a lot. It's good to have some proper company now and again. Is it Moony? Is that why you are thinking about not coming back?" Sirius had it right. It was partly because of Remus. I couldn't stand to move on from that special time that he was present in my life.

"I have to go" I said, standing up. I wasn't going to face the music. Not today.

"Wait," Sirius said, standing up after me, "are you coming back?" Sirius' eyes pleaded with me, and I could only nod.

"Of course" I replied softly. A smile crept up Sirius lips before I turned to walk off. Shit...now I'm in even deeper with another man.

* * *

I arrived back in my office, thoughts darting around my head, yelling at me. I was so confused. Lucius, Remus and now Sirius. What was it with men and me? I hated Lucius at the start, yet I decided to trust him. I fell in love with Remus, which turned out to be a big mistake and now I had feelings for Sirius, and I wasn't stopping it. I didn't have anyone to talk about this with, either. Minerva was too old, Gabrielle and Fleur were too young and it would confuse them all. Dumbledore? No. Father? No fucking way. Father didn't even know that I was going to check up on Sirius, if you could still call it checking up. I walked to my desk and looked down at the envelope sitting on the table. I recognised the handwriting. I opened the envelope and looked at the piece of parchment and gasped.

_**Dear Isabel,**_

_**I don't know what to say to you. It's been months since I've heard your voice...seen your face. There are some days when I regret my decision to stop all contact with you. So why am I writing to you? I don't even know what I'm doing writing to you. I'll start with the reason I decided to end our friendship.**_

_**I'm a werewolf. That's the number one reason. I don't ever want to hurt you. I saw your face a few days after you saw me change. You couldn't look at me properly. I don't blame you, as I said, I'm a werewolf. I couldn't live with myself if I knew that I had hurt someone that I loved, especially you. Reason two...I'm too old and I'm poor and I can't give you anything. I was a burden on you. You don't need me in your life. Go find someone young and fall in love...that's what you deserve, not me.**_

_**I still love you. Apart of me always will. I have to let you move on. Don't reply to this letter...it would only make it worse.**_

_**Remus.**_

I stared blankly down at the letter. How could I say anything back to this letter? I read the words over and over and couldn't make sense out of it all. After all this time, Remus decides to send me a letter to tell me the reasons, and then tells me not to write back...it hurt. I wasn't going to write back, because Remus was right, it would only make it worse. I then thought back to Sirius. What would he say reading this letter? Sirius would probably laugh it off and tell me that Remus was being overdramatic. Merlin, I'm thinking about Sirius again. I just got a message from Remus and all I can think of is Sirius. What is happening to me? I cannot be thinking about Sirius Black.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter, guys. Now, everyone, I want you to make a real effort with reviewing. 13 off 200...so that's the aim for this chapter. To get 13 reviews, so the story gets over 200 reviews!**

**To Julia (one of the reviewers) - to answer your question, Remus apparated away after he said his goodbye's to Isabel. You can tell because it says 'there was a loud crack'. Isabel know's that he has apparated away, but she doesn't want to believe that he's gone, so she calls out his name, although she knows that he isn't coming back.**

**Next Chapter - Cedric Diggory, Harry and Fleur all come to Isabel for advice. She officially meets Viktor Krum and Karkaroff. She receives more letters, but who are they from?**

**Question - Why do you think that Sirius is so willing to share his past with Isabel? Especially considering that she is a Snape.**


	39. Special

**Thanks to: FelixFelicius94, HPFan, madeyemarauder (thanks for your multiple reviews!), Crystalkyubbi-chan, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, LaFlorine, UltimateLHOTPFan, AyameHakusho, Zilver17S, death_wish_girl, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE & the anonymous reviewer!**

**Wow, over 200 reviews! Can't thank you guys enough.**

**I cannot thank each and every one of my reviewers enough. To now and to the road ahead!**

**Next step - 250!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I had not thought much about that letter from Remus. My head was filled with a different type of thought...thoughts of Sirius. It was embarrassing, actually. I picked the letter up from my desk and threw it in the bin. I wondered if that would end up being a mistake, but for now, I just had to get rid of it. It wasn't going to be any good just sitting on my table like that. Would Remus have told Sirius about that letter? _'Bloody hell, Isabel! What's going on with you? It's just Sirius, Sirius, Sirius lately.' _My head was right. It was just thoughts about Sirius, and that was very worrying.

* * *

I sat in the corner of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, marking papers. Moody kept glaring at me with his...scary eye. There was a slam of the door and in walked one of the Tri Wizard champions, Cedric Diggory. He was a bright boy, and it was a pleasure teaching him. He didn't make a lot of noise, he listened to me and he did his work. Moody looked up at Cedric and stood up.

"Diggory. What can I do for you?" Mad-Eye's voice was grizzly, which made him extra intimidating.

"Er - I was actually here to speak to Professor Snape, Sir" Cedric replied. I looked up from my marking as Moody glared at me once more. Great, Cedric has just dug an even bigger hole for me with Moody. I stood up and walked over to Diggory and Moody. I looked down to see Cedric holding his golden egg.

"Yes, Mr. Diggory?" I asked. Cedric glanced at Moody, as if to tell him to leave. Moody got the message, gave a grunt and walked up to his office to leave us alone.

"Is he always like that?" Cedric enquired, watching his Professor slam the door shut to his office. I looked at Cedric and shrugged.

"I wouldn't know, I tend to avoid him."

"Right..." Cedric mumbled, shaking his head, seemingly in disbelief.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" I asked. I hardly ever got the older students asking me for help, as I was only a few years older than them. It was if they didn't trust me enough. I didn't blame them, though. If I was in their shoes, I'd probably do the same thing.

"I need help figuring out this clue" Cedric said, holding up his golden egg. I took the egg from him and started to inspect it. It seemed to have an opening at the top, so I used the opening to open the egg. As soon as I opened it, a horrible screeching noise came from it. Cedric leapt forward and shut the egg. I held my hand to my chest, as if I just had a heart attack.

"That was my reaction at first, too" Cedric told me.

"I can't help you, Cedric. I thought teacher's weren't allowed to help, anyway. And this thing has me absolutely baffled." I scratched my head as I looked at the egg closely. This thing really did have me baffled.

"Oh, okay then" Cedric said, his tone disappointment. I pursed my lips and put one hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry I can't be of more help" I told him. Cedric nodded and picked up his egg.

"Thanks, Professor" Cedric said, turning around and walking out of the room. I felt bad, turning him away. Then again, what help was I when I had no idea what this thing was. A door slammed from behind me, and I turned to see Moody making his way down the stairs. I wondered what he'd have to say to me this time. Moody hated me. I think that he's already been to Dumbledore, complaining about me and my inexperience. Something he has to get used to.

"Weren't you able to help Diggory?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"No, I wasn't. I'm glad it pleases you" I replied, not looking at Mad-Eye. I glanced at him, and he was inspecting me, as if he were trying to find something out.

"Are you okay? Do you need to examine me as if I'm a picture?" I snapped.

"Why are you not afraid of me? I am much stronger than you, mentally and physically. I could kill you with a wave of my wand and yet you aren't scared." I laughed, but there was no humor in the laugh. This man thought he could kill me with no effort at all. What an idiot.

"Excuse me, but ever since your first day here you have underestimated me. Mark my words, Moody, I will show you what I'm capable of one day" I spat. I stood up and stormed out of the classroom. I was going to show Moody...because I knew that I was able to keep up with these people. I hated it when people underestimated me. I was a Snape, after all.

* * *

I was walking down the stairs back to the dungeons when I heard a loud slam. I turned behind me to see if anything was there, but the space was empty. There was another slam, and I quickly looked back down the stairs. Suddenly, a large rock dropped in front of me. I screamed and jumped to the stair behind me. I held my hand to my chest. It was like I just got the biggest scare of my life. There was a loud cackle, and who would appear in front of me, but Peeves.

"Peeves! Of course it's you...you stupid - "

"Snapie, Snapie, Snapie, Snape! I got you, Snapie!"

"Don't you have to go annoy Filch, Peeves?" I took my wand out and pointed it at Peeves. Before I knew it, Peeves was gone, obviously intimidated by the wand that was right in front of his face. I continued down the stairs to the dungeons, and to my office and private quarters.

* * *

I stood on the astronomy tower as the sun came up the next day. It was a beautiful sight...the grounds of Hogwarts and the Black Lake. I closed my eyes and felt the breeze run through my hair. I needed these moments more often. These were the moments when I could only identify myself as human. Feeling the wind, breathing the fresh air, the views. It was all part of enjoying those little things in life. People would say I'm not easily satisfied, but I'd be happy if this was my life. If I cut out all the complicated bits in my life and did this every morning, I'd die a happy woman.

* * *

I was walking through the corridor to the Great Hall when someone pushed passed me. I didn't get a glimpse of who did it, so I quickly turned to see who it was. The person had also stopped and was looking at me. It was Viktor Krum, the Tri Wizard Champion from Durmstrang. On his left, was Karkaroff.

"Er - very sorry" Viktor said in a low voice. His English wasn't very good, but I knew what he meant. He was apologising.

"Don't worry. No harm done."

"I am Viktor. Viktor Krum" he said, holding his hand out. I took his hand slowly and shook it.

"Professor Isabel Snape." Karkaroff's head snapped up as he looked at me.

"Nice to meet you" Viktor told me, nodding. He then turned and walked off, only Karkaroff didn't follow him. I felt extremely uncomfortable in this situation. The Durmstrang Headmaster seemed to hate my father, so what would stop him from hating me?

"Can I help you?" I said quietly. I reckon he thought I was easy pickings - that he could knock me around a bit. Karkaroff raised his eyebrows as he was scanning me. I tapped my foot, rudely, as if to get him to hurry it up.

"Igor Karkaroff" he finally said.

"Isabel Snape" I replied rudely. There was something not right about this man. Best to steer clear of him from now on. I walked away quickly, I didn't want any trouble.

* * *

As I was waking to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, I spotted Harry. I walked quickly up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and half smiled.

"Morning, Isabel" he said.

"Morning, Harry. How are you?"

"Fantastic" Harry sighed. "Thanks for the other day. For letting me sulk like a baby on your clothes."

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry. You are welcome in my office any time."

"I have a question to ask you."

"Yes?"

"i can't seem to figure this egg out" Harry told me. I looked to the ground. Now I had to deal with the disappointment of not only Diggory but Harry too.

"You alright, Isabel."

"It seems that I must disappoint you Harry. I know nothing about the egg. It's troubling me a little, too."

"Why would it be troubling you?" Harry asked. He didn't get it. I was always determined to find out something that wasn't really my business, but could change a lot. It could be a little embarrassing sometimes.

"Sorry for not being able to be more of a help. Harry." Harry nodded and walked off.

* * *

The rest of my day didn't go as planned. I wasn't allowed to speak to any of the students in class, because Moody had told me to shut up. I would have said something if not for his silencing charm on me. Stupid git, thinks he can stop me from helping to teach my own class. I would have to see someone about him sooner or later. I looked up at the time and noticed it was only early. The perfect time to just relax in my office, on my own. I deserved it after putting up with that prick, Moody.

* * *

The end of the week came, and thankfully it came quickly. I was sick of sitting in classes listening to Moody rambling on about crap that I should have been teaching. I sat in the viaduct courtyard, reading a book about potions, when I heard someone sit next to me. I put my book down and saw that Fred had joined me on my right. On my left, of course, was George. I sighed, knowing these two were already up to something.

"Fred. George. Hi" I said.

"You're looking a little down in the dumps today, Bellsie-Button!" George said, grinning. I looked at George, disapprovingly.

"If you ever call me Bellsie-Button again, I will hex you into next century" I said, not amused. Bellsie-Button, really? That's more annoying than Snapie. George winked at me and nudged me slightly. I laughed a little...I couldn't help it. Fred and George had that way about them that made you laugh, even if you were super annoyed with them.

"So, what do you two want?" I asked cautiously. Knowing these two, they could want anything fro me.

"Well," said Fred, "we noticed you were having a bit of trouble with Moody. You sit there like a stunned gryndilow when he's looking at you, and it seems apparent that you aren't getting to teach us. Well, guess what? Georgie and I have a solution." I didn't like the grin on Fred's face, but I couldn't resist these two.

"What do you have in mind?" I enquired, raising my eyebrows at the twins. Fred and George looked at each other and rolled their eyes, then shook their heads.

"We never tell our secrets of our trade, which is the art of pranking teacher's, of course! You should know that" George said. I nodded, knowing that they'd never tell me.

"Look, maybe you shouldn't. You might get into serious trouble" I said finally. What was I doing? How could I be encouraging Fred and George? I was a teacher, not a bloody student!

Fred laughed a little, held his finger up and grinned at me. "Ah, but you see Bellsie-Button, we were going to do it even if you said no." Fred moved in a little closer to me, as did George. I was now in the middle of a Weasley sandwich. There was no way I was going to get out of it. I looked to my left and George winked at me. I turned to my right, and Fred did the same.

"You see, Bellsie-Button, we care about you. We don't want you to be beaten around by a man who thinks your nothing! We are simply sticking up for you" George said, "and if that involves a little prank, oh well. It's all for the good and benefit of our Bellsie-Button." I sat back and sighed as Fred and George looked at me, awaiting my answer. I smiled and nodded. Who was I to deny Fred and George their fun. Especially when it was going to involve Moody.

"Fine...but please stop calling me Bellsie-Button" I laughed. Fred and George stood up, grabbed my arms and pulled me up. They threw their arms around me and held me tightly.

"Thank you!" George said. I was suffocating in between the twins.

"Can't...breathe..." I choked out. Fred and George looked down at me quickly and realised what was happening. They let go of me quickly and Fred held me up so I wouldn't fall.

"Sorry about that" George said.

"You two will be the death of me" I told them, pushing Fred off me gently and dusting myself off.

"And be careful. Moody isn't stupid..."

"We know. Look at you, being so mature with us. We better go, we've got planning to do" George said. George leaned down and kissed me on one cheek and whizzed off. Fred leaned down and kissed my other cheek.

"See ya Bellsie-Button!" He said with a grin on his face before he also took off. I couldn't fathom how Molly was able to raise those two.

* * *

The letters arrived again the next day. The pathetic, pleading letters from the man I once trusted. It made me sick to my stomach knowing that I once made time for his bullshit. Lucius Malfoy was the slimy git that I first thought of him to be. I can't exactly remember the day when my opinion on that changed, but it was obvious of how much of an idiot I became on that day. I opened the letter slowly, arguing with myself whether I should read it or not. Oh well, too late now.

_**Dear Isabel,**_

_**It has been so long since we have spoken and there is not a day that goes by where I don't miss your eyes and your beautiful voice.**_

_**Please come back and see me. I can explain everything. The conversation you heard was not what you think it is. Give me a chance.**_

_**Lucius.**_

He really had hit rock bottom. There was no way I was giving Lucius Malfoy a chance, nor will I hear him out. I was stupid enough to do that once, I wasn't going to risk it and do it again. There was no need for Lucius in my life anymore. Why bother giving him a key to get back into it? I wondered what Sirius would say about all of this. _'Merlin, Isabel! Sirius again?' _I was starting to scare myself with how many thoughts of mine were about Sirius. It couldn't be healthy.

* * *

Sunday's were good. There was nothing to worry about on Sunday's. Today I could just relax. Forget about that stupid letter I sat back in my seat behind my desk in my office, flattened out my dress and picked up the 'Daily Prophet'. As I began to read, there was a knock at my door. I slammed my paper on my desk and my head went with it. Just one day where I wasn't interrupted. All I wanted was just one! I picked up my wand and waved it at the door.

"Come in" I said calmly. The door opened and in walked my two younger sisters - Fleur and Gabrielle. I seemed to be a lot calmer seeing these two walk in.

"Isabel!" Gabrielle cried, running over to me. She threw herself into my arms and didn't move from there. I smiled and kissed her head.

"Good morning" I said softly. Fleur walked over to my desk and saw the Prophet sitting there.

"Were we interrupting?" Fleur asked. Mother had done a bloody good job with their English skills, that was for sure. I shook my head.

"No, don't be silly. I was just reading the paper. What can I do for you?"

"We were wondering eef you'd like to go on a picneec" Gabrielle said, clearly excited. Her accent was thicker than Fleur's, too. I looked back and forth between Gabrielle and Fleur. I guess it was a good opportunity to spend some quality time with my sisters.

"Of course. Where were you thinking of having it?" I asked.

"Where you took Gabrielle...on the edge of the lake."

"When?"

"Now..." Fleur told me, as if I'd asked a stupid question. I gave one nod and picked up my wand. It was better to stay on Fleur's good side at the moment. She would be super stressed because of this tournament. Her bad side would not be a lovely place to be at this point in time.

* * *

Fleur and I were walking down to the edge of the Black Lake as Gabrielle skipped in front of us, singing a song in French. Gabrielle didn't get to spend a lot of time away from Mother and her husband, which was probably driving her insane. If I had stayed there any longer, it probably would of done the same to me, too. The family was too normal...too practical. We always had to be in line with certain things. You couldn't be yourself, sometimes. Gabrielle found the perfect spot and put the mat we were going to sit on onto the ground. Fleur placed the picnic basket in the middle as we sat around.

"This is really nice. Thanks for inviting me" I said.

"We are sisters! Of course we invite you!" Fleur replied. I was going to tell her that she was missing a word of two in her sentence, but then I realised it wasn't the time to do it. I opened the picnic basket and looked inside. There was a variety of different foods...mostly French foods though. I took out the bread and put it in the middle.

"Who made this?" I asked.

"Me" Fleur replied.

"Really?" Fleur nodded. I could see her self-esteem shoot up.

"I like this" Gabirlle said.

"Us being together?" I enquired.

"Oui" Fleur and Gabrielle said at the same time. Gabrielle stood up and began to walk to inspect the lake. Fleur turned to me and her expression wasn't as light.

"Do you know anything about ze egg?" She asked.

"The golden egg?"

"Oui." I simply just shook my head.

"No?"

"No. I don't have a clue" I told Fleur.

"If you know anything..."

"I'll tell you, I promise. For now, I cannot say because I do not know anything." Fleur knew that I had a close relationship with Harry. I guess she wanted to know if I had told Harry these things too. Fleur only wanted the best for herself though in this tournament...the best for her safety.

* * *

I laid back on the mat and looked up at the sky. It was a fine day, with a few clouds in the sky. I pointed to one of the clouds and laughed.

"That looks like the owl that my friends the Weasley's have. Always crashes into things" I said. Gabrielle looked to the sky and giggled. She then pointed to another cloud.

"Zat looks like a cat!" She said. I had to twist and turn to see the cloud, but I got where she was coming from.

"Your quiet, Fleur" I said.

"Oui. I'm just taking een ze moment" she replied. I smiled at Fleur. I was taking this in too. This was a moment between sisters to cherish. It was special. The three of us were special.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Would just like to thank you all again for your reviews! They were amazing! We're on 205 reviews at the moment. Our goal? 220 after next chapter. I know you guys can do it!**

**To the anonymous reviewer - I would just like you to know how amazing I felt when you told me you'd like to write a fanfic about my fanfic! That just makes me feel so proud of my work. Thank you! I urge you to get an account so we can talk more!**

**Next Chapter - Something VERY important happens. And I mean VERY important. It involves one of the males in Isabel's life. That's all your getting from me!**

**Question for this chapter -**

**Out of all the Harry Potter movies, which of the opening theme's did you like best. Was it the original Hedwig's theme? Was it Obliviate (Deathly Hallows Part 1)? Which one was your favourite?**


	40. Like A Drug

**Thanks To: LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, LaFlorine, elfsquire90, UltimateLHOTPFan, HPFan and Wanting More. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I hated Monday's. Not only did I have to go teach classes with that moron that is Moody, but I was always tired on Monday's. Today was no exception. I had been up all night, unable to get to sleep. I could thank Sirius Black for that. Him and his stupid charms. How was I attracted to him? I had to shake this off, or I wouldn't be able to concentrate properly.

I walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom after the students were called in by Moody. As I walked in, I put my hands over my mouth. Fred and George have done it again. I looked around the classroom to see all the desks on the roof. I walked to the front of the classroom to see all Moody's teaching supplies had been drawn on. The jars containing different insects and animals had drawings of Cornish Pixies on them. I tried not to laugh, but it was bloody hilarious. The students were all laughing, but when Moody let out a loud grunt, they all stopped immediately.

"Who did this?" Moody asked, his voice rough and harsh. He walked past each student, scanning them. One of the girls seemed close to crying.

"WHO DID THIS?" Moody bellowed. Moody turned to me and walked up to me. I held my head high. I was not going to be submissive.

"Miss Snape, do you know who did this?" Moody enquired. There was venom in his voice.

"It's Professor Snape, actually" I replied. The students giggled, and one applauded me.

"You will tell me who did this, Snape."

"How on earth will I tell you when I have no idea who did it?" I asked. Moody glared at me and turned on his heel. I smirked and then winked at all the students.

"When I find out who did this, there will be serious consequences" Moody said sternly. I now held grave fears for Fred and George, as Moody looked like he was going to shoot the killing curse at someone any minute.

* * *

It was lunchtime, and I was towards the Great Hall when I spotted Fred and George sitting in the courtyard. I smirked and made my way over to them. They looked up at me and grinned, knowing that I had seen what they had done. Fred hi-fived his brother and winked at me.

"Did you like it?" He asked.

"Yes, I did actually. Congrats, you two. You've outdone yourself this time!"

"Thank you, Bellsie-Button, it was all for you" George told me. I sat in between the twins and looked at George.

"You can call me Bellsie, but drop the button, please" I said.

"Alright, fine."

"So," Fred said, "how did Moody react?"

"He wasn't happy. He started yelling at the students, wanting to know who did it. He then came up to me and asked me if I did it. I did a smart-arse reply and he seemed to get even more annoyed, if that was even possible." Fred and George applauded me and I laughed.

"Smart-arse reply always does the trick" Fred said.

"I know I shouldn't really be thanking you two, because what you did was wrong...but thank you" I said, smiling at the twins.

"Our pleasure." Fred grinned and bowed from where he was sitting.

"Anytime you need us, we're here" George said. I stood up and waved at them.

"I better be off. You two stay out of Moody's way."

"Oh, you know we will" Fred replied with a wink. I turned away from the twins and walked off. They were always good to be around, even if they were trouble making idiots.

* * *

That night, I decided to call in Filius, Minerva and Father to my office to tell them on some thoughts I was having on Moody. I wasn't sure if this guy was safe to have around the students. It was worrying to see him blow his lid at them when they didn't even do anything wrong. At 9 o'clock at night, Filius, Minerva and Father all entered my office and made their way to a table, which I had set up. There was tea, biscuits and some kind of soup that Dobby had made me. I wasn't sure if it was going to be very nice, though.

"So, Isabel, what's all this about?" Filius asked me.

"It's about Alastor Moody" I replied. Minerva raised one eyebrow and seemed surprised that this was my topic.

"Alastor?" She asked.

"I'm worried that he's not all that he seems..."

"What do you mean by not all he seems?" Father asked me, a worried look on his face.

"He blew his lid at the students today because of a harmless prank. Why is Dumbledore letting someone teach kids when Moody cannot even control his temper? It's making me extremely worried about the safety of some of the students in his classes."

"You're there, though. Why can't you just help the students?" Filius asked me.

"Moody looks like he wants to punch my lights out every second. Not a good idea for me to mess with him in the middle of a class." Little did Minerva, Filius and Father know, I already made a fool of him in the middle of a class. I just didn't want to tell them about it.

"I understand where you're coming from, Isabel. He turned Draco Malfoy into a ferret not long ago" Minerva said. I looked at Minerva in shock. Why didn't Draco tell me? Now I was really going to hand it to Moody.

"Are you serious?" I asked. Minerva nodded.

"Mr. Malfoy nearly died from embarrassment. I would too, it was terrible. And in front of a crowd, too! I had to put Alastor back into line. It was terrible. I had never seen someone react that way to torturing a student like that. It was as if he was enjoying it!"

"Did you report it to Dumbledore?" I asked.

"Of course. But Dumbledore never sides with me. He probably gave Alastor a warning and that was it!"

"I see where you are all coming from, but I think the only solution to this problem is that we keep out of his way" Father said.

"Yes, because keeping out of Alastor Moody's way is going to be so easy for you."

"Then do not react to him, Isabel. It is simple. If we shut him out and ignore me, it should be quite simple. Alastor Moody relies on Dumbledore. Just isolate him until Dumbledore approaches him about it. When Dumbledore asks us about it, just simply say that we do not know why he is acting like he is."

"You make it sound so easy, Father" I said.

"It won't be easy, but giving Moody the satisfaction of making us feel like second rate teachers will make it worse for us." Filius, Minerva, Father and I all agreed that this would be the best way to go. We spent the rest of the night, talking on who would possibly replace Moody if he went. They all said I would, but I told them that Dumbledore doesn't think I'm ready. It then went into a gossip session about other teachers. It was interesting to hear how they viewed the other teachers, but more interesting to hear how they rated the way they teach. I just hoped that they wouldn't talk about me one day behind my back.

* * *

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday all went past quickly. Moody spent the whole entire week complaining that he wasn't getting enough respect from the students. I told him that he had to earn their respect and he just gave me that glare that he does. It was now Saturday, and thankfully, I didn't have to see or hear Moody for the whole weekend. I was getting sick of him. I wondered how I was going to survive for the rest of the school year. I was going to go see Sirius today. You see, I couldn't avoid seeing Sirius. My head had been filled with thoughts of him ever since I saw him last. It would be unhealthy for me to start avoiding him. Why did this have to happen to me? I bet Sirius didn't even return my so called feelings for him. Wait, did I just say I had feelings for him. Shit. This wasn't a good sign. _'I think it is a good sign. Finally you can move on from wolf boy. But why did it have to be convict man? Why don't you find someone your own age. Maybe a Weasley? There's Bill, Charlie and Percy if you want them!'_

"Shut up" I spat at my head. I then remembered the letter I had received from Professor Trelawney. She heard a prophecy about me...or made one...I didn't know how it worked. I decided that I needed to pay her a little visit.

* * *

It had been years since I had been in the Divination classroom. It seemed different to me. I hated Divination back then, but now I had matured, it seemed different to me. I stepped in the classroom and looked around. It wasn't really a classroom, either.

"Hello?" I said. There were footsteps, and from around the corner, Trelawney appeared. Trelawney had always scared me, and she'd always been one of my least favourite teachers. It didn't help that I thought Divination was utter crap.

"Isabel! My child! What can I do for you, my dear girl?" She lead me to a table where she sat me down. She sat opposite me and looked at me, curiously.

"The prophecy...about me..."

"AHA! I cannot speak about it..."

"Why?"

"I cannot. I can only say one thing to you, my child. This prophecy is about love. You have had a difficult time with love so far, am I correct?" Trelawney said. How did she know that I've had a difficult time? I never told her anything.

"Yes..." I replied cautiously, nodding.

"You will find your love soon enough, maybe you know this person already, but it will be someone you will not expect. And there will be a dark side to them. It is not sure if the dark side is hidden, or if it is out there for all to see." I stood up, feeling uncomfortable. This was a mistake.

"Where are you going, my dear girl?"

"It was a mistake coming to talk to you. This stuff is not real...It won't help me. Thanks for your time" I said before leaving the classroom quickly. I'd fine my love soon and they will someone I won't expect. And they'll have a dark side. How helpful. God, Divination pissed me off.

* * *

I was getting ready to see Sirius, again. I was making more of an effort with my appearance today, for some reason. It wasn't as if Sirius was going to chuck me out if I looked horrible. Wait, am I an idiot? Of course I wasn't ever going to look horrible, I'm a quarter Veela. What the hell is happening with me? I can't even think straight now. I picked up my wand and walked towards my fireplace. It was amazing, the magic that Dumbledore had used. It was funny how easily he could outsmart the Ministry. Dumbledore had made the floo connection between my office and 12 Grimmauld Place undetectable. I wasn't sure how he did it, but it was incredible. I took some floo powder, chucked it in the fireplace and departed my office at Hogwarts.

* * *

I arrived in the same room that Sirius and I talked in last time. It was weird, because it seemed cleaner than usual. It was still disgusting, though. I sat down on the same seat as I did last time, not bothering to let Sirius know I was in his house. He'd work it out eventually...I hoped. There were so many cobwebs on the walls, so I took my wand out, waved it and suddenly all the cobwebs, dust and mould was gone from the walls. I was happy with my work on that one.

"What are you doing?" Someone asked from behind me. I turned to see Sirius, looking up at the walls. My heart stopped for one second, and there were butterflies in my stomach. Merlin's beard, this was not good.

"Cleaning" I replied.

"I see." Sirius sat down opposite me and raised his eyebrows.

"How long have you been here for?" He asked me.

"Only a couple of minutes. I was going to see how long it took you to notice that someone was in your house. You really should learn to be more alert" I said, smirking.

"Yeah, well that's the last time I trust you" Sirius replied, grinning. Whenever I saw Sirius, he always had that grin on his face. Sirius' eyes darted around the room, inspecting it again,

"You are a life saver, Isabel, really" Sirius said. "There isn't any mould on the walls now. Any chance you could do the other rooms?" I rolled my eyes and shook my head at Sirius' attempts to make me do housework. I was not that type. I didn't know how Molly did it. She had seven kids and still managed to run a house hold. How could a woman just throw away any kind of life that she had to have a bunch of kids?

"Thank you. And no, I won't do the other rooms. You can do it yourself, or get that bitter, old house elf of yours to do it for you" I replied. Sirius wasn't like he was when I started visiting him. He cared about things now. He wasn't too bad to look at, either. He had those dark good looks. Not again! I had to stop saying Sirius was attractive.

"What are you thinking about?" Sirius asked, leaning forward in his chair. I half smiled and leaned forward, not really knowing why I was doing it.

"I was thinking about how having to visit you was terrible, and how I am so sick of it" I said softly, a smirk appearing on my face. What was going on with me? I was telling myself not to do this, yet when Sirius asks any type of question I feel the need to flirt. Was there a button to turn this off? It's starting to scare me.

"Well, I was thinking how lucky I was to have Miss Isabel Snape visiting me so often. I feel like I need to apologise to her after being an absolute git when we first met. I also have to aplogise for the times when I insult her, but I don't mean it. I think that Miss Isabel Snape is a life saver...and I also think that she is smart and very attractive" he whispered. Was he owning up to something?

"Is there something you'd like to own up to, Sirius?" I asked in a very quiet voice. The butterflies in my stomach just got a whole lot worse. My whole body felt like it was shaking.

"Well, there is one thing..." Sirius replied.

"What would that be?" I asked. Suddenly, Sirius leaned forward and his lips landed on mine. The moment that I knew was coming was finally here. Sirius was kissing me, and I was kissing him back. This kiss was so much different then the one I had with Remus. There was a different feeling...an amazing feeling. Fireworks. Sirius pulled back and looked at the ground, awkwardly.

"Er - I'm - um..." Sirius mumbled, looking up at me. I stood up for no particular reason and ran my hand through my hair. This was incredibly awkward. I felt myself moving closer to Sirius. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. Oh, whatever, I didn't care anymore...I couldn't help myself this time. I leaned forward and pressed my lips onto Sirius'. Sirius' hands went onto my waist as he pulled me closer to him. My hand landed on his upper arm, and then my arms made their way around his neck. I then realised what was happening and jumped backwards out of Sirius' arms.

"Oh my god...um...sorry" I said, shaking my head. I went to the fireplace, grabbed a hand full of floo powder and left Grimmauld Place, and a shocked Sirius. _'What are you doing, Isabel?'_

* * *

When I arrived back at my office, I stumbled out of the fireplace and landed in my chair. I was breathing rapidly, my hand on my chest. I had just kissed Sirius Black. _'It was more of a make out, really.' _It was times like these where I wished that my brain would shut up and not annoy the crap out of me. My head fell into my hands and I was as confused as ever. It was clear now that I had feelings for Sirius, but it would be a total betrayal to Remus. Sirius was his best friend, for Merlin's sakes. Then again, Remus left me. I've had no contact with him for months. He was the one who stopped our friendship, not me. Maybe it was finally time to move on from him. When was I going to get back go back to see Sirius? So many questions, not enough answers. I kept my head in my hands as I thought about the consequences of this. If I did anything with Sirius, it would not only hurt Remus, but a number of other people too, such as my own father, Molly, probably Andromeda. This time around, there was no one I could turn to for help. I had to make this decision on my own. I had to grow up and start to take responsibility for my actions. Sirius Black was like a drug, he was bad for me now, and he'll be bad for me in the future, but I just couldn't help myself.

* * *

**A/N: Well, ladies and gentleman, there you have it. Isabel and Sirius kissed. What do you think? Mistake on Isabel's part, or do you think that this could be a good thing? I really wanted to upload this chapter quickly, because I made the finishing touches today and was really excited to get it to you guys. Let's try get to 220+ reviews by next chapter.**

**Next Chapter - She deals with the aftermath of the kiss, and she goes to Grimmauld Place to deal with it all. Maxime and Isabel bump into each other. Nasty words ensue. And something happens with Moody. What will it be?**

**My answer to last chapter's question - I love Lily's Theme! It's the most played song on my iPod. **


	41. Haunted

**Thanks to: Tessa, HPFan, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, UltimateLHOTPFan, Claudine, HagridJunior, theoneandonlybellariddle & elfsquire90 for your reviews last chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

I woke up the next morning, and I felt so confused. Was it just a kiss? Or did it mean more? My god, what would Remus think of me? _**'Alright, you listen to me Isabel. Remus isn't going to appear on your doorstep anytime soon. He left you. He had his chance but he took off. Forget Remus like he asked you to.' **_My head made a valid point. I think it was time to finally listen to it. But then again, did my friendship with Remus mean more than my feelings for Sirius? I didn't want to risk it, did I? Merlin's beard, I was in a very deep hole. But that kiss, the fireworks! The feeling that Sirius gave me when his lips were on mine. I didn't get that with Remus. I haven't had that with anyone before. I have butterflies in my stomach every time I think of Sirius. It was cruel, because I just wanted things not to be complicated for once. Everything was going to be complicated with Sirius, though. Maybe it was time to take a risk.

* * *

I was walking down the corridor that morning when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. It was none other than moron Moody. I grimaced as he held my arm tightly. He has a look in his eyes of complete madness. Why did Dumbledore hire this man? He didn't seem like he was very good with children and he was very intimidating.

"Just what do you think your doing with Potter?" He snapped. His face was right in front of mine, perfect slapping range.

"Harry is my friend. I have no idea what your talking about" I replied, slapping him and releasing my arm from his grip. He held the left side of his face before looking back up at me. I wonder if he realised that I wasn't one to be playing around with.

"If you keep giving advice to him about the tournament he'll end up dead. Where as, if he listens to me, he might just win the whole bloody thing."

"I doubt anyone listens to you because your an absolute dick." Moody looked as if he were about to explode. He needed to hear this, though. He needed to hear that he was not acting in the acceptable manor.

"So, Professor, do you know what happened to my classroom the other day?" Moody asked, his voice alarmingly calm.

"Our classroom" I replied, rudely, trying to keep a smirk off my face.

"I know you have something to do with it."

"You cannot prove anything, Professor Moody. You seriously need to learn a few things about manners, because you seemed to have lost them somehow."

"You need to learn to keep your mouth shut. Or I'll shut it for you...permanently." Moody glared at me again before walking off. This was getting serious. Was that a death threat? He would shut my mouth permanently. That was a scary prospect. I did not doubt that Moody had the guts to do it, either. The million galleon question was, however, why was he so hell bent on me not talking to Harry?

* * *

I walked down to the Viaduct Courtyard to check up on all the students. Little did I know that I would find Maxime and Karkaroff standing there, having a little chat. I didn't like seeing these two together, as I didn't trust them. They both put their reputations in front of the safety and wellbeing of their students. Gabrielle is a prime example - Maxime never gave a shit about her. I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see Minerva walking towards me.

"Isabel" she said softly.

"Hello, Minverva." Minerva looked over to see Karkaroff and Maxime.

"What do you think they're talking about?"

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head, "but I don't trust them. They both don't care about anything but winning that tournament. You know that Maxime left Gabrielle alone to help herself when they got here. Maxime wanted Gabrielle to be left in France, but Fleur insisted that she came along. Now she isn't allowed to attend any classes with the older girls, she is left by herself."

"Oh my. What is she doing?"

"I've talked to one of the house elves, told him to keep her company when Fleur and I aren't available to." At that moment, Maxime and Karkaroff noticed our presence. They walked over to Minerva and I, their heads held high.

"What are you doing here?" Karkaroff spat.

"Sorry, I wasn't under the impression that Minerva and I were guests in our own school. However, I was under the impression that you two were" I snapped back. My dark eyes were glaring at both Karkaroff and Maxime.

"You are nothing but a little girl" Maxime said, stroking her hair as if she were superior to me. I went to take my wand out, but Minerva touched my arm and shook her head. I knew it was the wrong thing to do, but these two made me so angry.

"How dare you speak to me like that" I replied rudely, "I am a Professor in this school and you are not to speak to me like that in my own school."

"I can speak to you however I want" Maxime said.

"Don't be rude, Olympe" Minerva said quietly. Maxime turned to Minerva and raised her eyebrows, as if she were surprised that Minverva actually had a voice.

"You...you are siding with this girl?" Maxime asked.

"You do not speak to Hogwarts staff as if they are nothing. Especially Professor Snape." Maxime and Karkaroff began to laugh.

"Professor? She is not a professor!" Maxime laughed.

"I am a professor and all you are is a bitch!" I hissed at Maxime.

"How dare you!"

"Isabel, come along, dear. We know better than to associate with these people" Minerva said to me softly. I turned away from Karkaroff and Maxime and began to walk away with Minerva. These two got under my skin so much. I didn't understand why they thought so little of me.

"Ah, they are cowards here, too!" Maxime shouted. I turned back and lunged at Maxime, before Minerva grabbed me around my waist.

"Do not do anything you regret, Isabel!" Minerva said sternly. She was right. If I did anything that I did regret, I could possibly lose my job. I backed up and turned away from Maxime and Karkaroff. They weren't worth my time and they weren't worth my breath. I walked away from them, knowing that what I had done was right. Maybe I could get Fred and George onto them...

* * *

"What was 'zat?" A voice from behind asked me. I turned around to see Fleur standing there.

"What? What on earth do you mean?"

"You heard me. Why do you and Madame Maxime hate each other so much?" Fleur had her arms crossed and her eyes were piercing into me. I couldn't just tell her flat out that her Headmistress was a bitch, could I? How disappointing.

"It's very complicated, Fleur" I replied smoothly. I didn't want a fight with my younger sister...not again.

"Oh, eet eez complicated, eez eet? Everything eez complicated! I am old enough to handle these things, Isabel!" Fleur spat. Great, now Fleur was pissed off. That was never a good thing, either. She had Mother's temper. Mother would have tantrums like there was no tomorrow...and they would all be about ridiculous things too, such as clothes or perfume. She always wanted her way.

"Look, Fleur you just wouldn't understand."

"Why? Because I am younger?"

"Fleur..."

"I do not understand why you are fighting with her! She is not all 'zat bad!" That was it. I had enough of what Fleur was saying. Sometimes I couldn't control my temper, either.

"Not all that bad? Not that bad? Fleur, have you heard what she has done to our younger sister. She has treated Gabrielle like an outcast! Gabrielle has the right to learn and the right to be around people she feels comfortable with. Why did you even bring her with you, Fleur? Did you not realise she was going to be lonely? Did you not realise that she doesn't have anyone around her age with her? I had to introduce her to one of the house elves just to make her feel like she knew somebody because I can't help her all the time. I have to teach!"

"Mother will not be happy to hear she eez friends with a house elf!" Fleur snapped. I rolled my eyes. Such a Fleur thing to say.

"Go ahead, dob on me. At least Gabrielle will be happy that she has a friend with her. And I don't give a damn what Mother would say back to me. She lost all my respect when I realised that she picked her husband over me."

"Don't speak about my father like 'zat!" Fleur exclaimed.

"I don't have time for this. Excuse me" I said, pushing past my younger sister. She could be so thick sometimes.

* * *

I couldn't sleep. All that was going around in my mind was that bloody kiss. The clock ticked over to ten o'clock. I debated with myself about whether I should go and see Sirius or not. On one hand, maybe it would clear things up for me. On the other - it could just land me in deeper shit. God, if my father knew I kissed Sirius, he would kill Sirius. Then he'd kill me. I could picture it now. My mother making contact with me for the first time in years to tell me how stupid I was. Then, Father hitting me with the killing curse to seal the deal. My god, could you imagine if I got pregnant to the guy? _**'Seriously, Isabel? Pregnancy? Your going that far to think about pregnancy to Sirius Black?'**_My head was right. Why the hell was I thinking about such things? Yet another thing dawned on me - Sirius was Andromeda's cousin. Andromeda was like a mother to me. I don't think it was possible to land myself in deeper shit than I was in now. No, stuff it. I had to go back to Grimmauld Place. I had to see Sirius Black.

* * *

I arrived to see Sirius, standing there, as if he knew I was coming. He helped me out of the fireplace and half smiled. This was completely awkward. I wondered if he had been thinking of me as much as I was thinking of him. The butterflies in my stomach had returned as I looked into his striking grey eyes. They told me a whole different story. I tore my eyes away from his, as it would only make me become even more uncomfortable.

"Hello" I said softly, my eyes not wanting to look into his.

"Hi," he replied, not wanting to look at me either. I didn't blame him. I didn't make this situation easy on him.

"How are you?" I asked. What a ridiculous thing to ask at a time like this. I had to get my act together, and quick. Everything was at stake here. If I make one mistake, it would most definitely end in complete humiliation.

"I'm okay" Sirius said, "not being able to get out of this house is getting to me a little bit." I nodded, knowing what he was going through. I thought sometimes that my house at Spinner's End was a bit like a prison. It was dark and it was like I couldn't freely go anywhere without Father knowing my every move. Did it piss me off? Yeah, it did. I couldn't imagine how much worse it would be for Sirius, though. He couldn't walk outside of this house. That would earn him a one way ticket back to Azkaban.

"How's Kreacher?" I asked. I was making conversation, but I didn't want to be here. I had no idea why I came anymore. _**'Out of everything, you chose Kreacher to be the topic of conversation. For Merlin's sakes, Isabel, you are losing it! Sirius is going to think your a complete nutter.'**_

"He's as bitter as ever." We sat there in silence, making awkward eye contact every few seconds.

"Sirius, can we talk?" I asked. It was the white dragon in the room. The kiss. We hadn't had contact since that kiss, and there was a lot of awkwardness in the room. I couldn't deny that I enjoyed the kiss that we shared. I felt fireworks when it happened. I was just scared that Sirius didn't feel the same way. If he didn't feel the same way...I would be in a spot of trouble. Sirius nodded and sat in an armchair, and I sat opposite him.

"So..." Sirius said, "what do you want to talk about? The awkwardness in the room? The kiss?"

"I hope this awkwardness doesn't come between us, Sirius."

"Yeah...it was just one kiss, you know? Spur of the moment thing" Sirius said. I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. If he was, I was disappointed. Sirius saw my face and suddenly retreated, as if he was sure that he'd hit a nerve.

"Not that I don't like you, Isabel. I do. You're smart, you're unintentionally funny and you're pretty damn sexy, too." Did Sirius Black just call me sexy? I felt my cheeks go pink and my face felt warmer. Sirius was good at charming women, that was for sure. Was it possible to feel a little embarrassed by someone calling you sexy, because that was how I was feeling. I stood up, not knowing what to do. I should just go back to Hogwarts. This wasn't what I had in mind. I thought it would be so much easier than this,

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked, also standing up

"Back to Hogwarts. I'm tired and I just want to go to bed." I said softly.

"Wait. Do you want to stay for something to eat or something?" Sirius asked, his tone desperate. Did he want me to stay?

"No, I should be getting back. Father will probably want to share a meal with me tonight. Or Minerva. Can't please everyone..."

"You spend heaps of time with your father, Isabel. Please, just stay. I enjoy your company." I sighed, wanting to stay here badly. I couldn't, though. I could not bring myself to stay with Sirius and endure the terrible butterflies in my stomach. I couldn't endure how much I wanted to talk with him more about our feelings, and the kiss. I couldn't stay here and pretend everything was okay, because it wasn't.

"I'm sorry. I can't get out of previous commitments. Maybe some other time." Sirius seemed genuinely disappointed. I half smiled and walked to the fireplace. Before I could do anything, I felt an arm reach for me. Sirius turned me around. We stood there, facing each other. Being this close to Sirius, something clicks. I started to become nervous, and my heart was beating rapidly. I was practically shaking. How could he make me feel this way? The butterflies in my stomach...there were no words to describe them. I couldn't handle it anymore. I had to do it.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to Sirius'. That feeling was back. The one of fireworks. Sirius didn't pull back, instead, he kissed me back. This was different. A whole lot different to our first kiss. It was a whole lot more passionate. Sirius pushed me back against the wall lightly and continued to kiss me. My arms wrapped around his neck, but I didn't really know what to do from here. I had never really been this intimate with anyone Sirius' attention turned to my own neck, I looked behind Sirius to see pictures sitting on the mantlepiece. A photo of a young, smiling Remus stared back at me. I pushed Sirius off and walked to the fireplace as quickly as I could.

"Isabel...wait..." Sirius said. I threw the floo powder into the fireplace and left Grimmauld Place, feeling so very guilty about what just happened. I wondered if Remus was going to haunt me forever.

* * *

**A/N: Hello! Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Sorry for the length of that chapter, guys. I just didn't have anything coming to me. I've been sick too, so I'm trying to write as much as I can without getting a headache. Alright, I was a little disappointed with the number of reviews for last chapter. Remember, you reviewing is what keeps me going! We did reach the 220 target...only just.**

**To the reviewer named Tessa - I loved your review. You went to so much effort and I thank you so very much for it.**

**Next Chapter - Instead of telling you what's going to happen, I'll give you a sneak peek.**

_This was the moment I had been waiting for. Sirius Black was going to tell me how he felt about me. In the next minute, I was going to be either overjoyed, or heartbroken._


	42. I Feel Pretty

**Thanks to: LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, HPFan, Tessa, Crystalkyubbi-chan, UltimateLHOTPFan, LaFlorine, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE for their reviews last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter - as much as I wish I did.**

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It was obvious that I was in a mess, and a big mess too. My head was spinning with all these different thoughts and I was sick of it. Why was I never able to think clearly when it came to things like this? The other problem was that I had no one to speak to about this. I would never dream of speaking to Minerva or Father about this. They'd burn me alive. It was deep into the night, and I knew I should get some sleep, but there was a knock at my door. I didn't want to answer it...I wasn't in the mood. There was another knock, and I ignored it yet again. I put my head on my desk and groaned. I didn't want a chat with anyone. I wanted people to go away so I could figure this out on my own.

"Isabel" someone said in a soft voice. I looked up to see Dumbledore standing there, shaking his head down at me.

"What a pity," Dumbledore said, "I thought you were strong enough to handle him."

"Handle who?" I asked back.

"Sirius, of course."

"I am handling it, Headmaster. I don't understand why I need to keep visiting him. He's fine now on his own." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and sat opposite me. He sat back in his chair, making himself comfortable.

"Dearest Isabel, I did not say that you had to visit him for as long as you had. Only a couple of times would have done. You see, Isabel, you have been visiting him on your own accord. You must tell me, my dear. What has Sirius done to make you so infatuated with him?" Dumbledore asked, a smile on his face. Dumbledore knew freaking everything!

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, come on now, Isabel. I can see it! You are quite taken with Sirius, are you not?"

"I guess he's alright..."

"So you have not had any romantic feelings towards Sirius Black whatsoever?" Dumbledore asked. He saw the look on my face and realised he was going too far. "I am mainly being curious, Isabel. I am so very sorry if I have offended you in any way." Dumbledore gave me a thoughtful look. "Why do you look so miserable, Isabel? You have a wonderful life. You have wonderful friends, you have a father that cares about you..."

"He'd hate me" I whispered, shrugging my shoulders.

"Who would hate you?" Dumbledore asked, in a kind, but concerned voice.

"Remus" I replied. Dumbledore sighed.

"Love is a powerful type of magic. More powerful than any other magic, in fact. Remus would never hate you, Isabel. Remus did love you."

"Why did he leave me then, Sir? I do not understand it."

"He left because he thought he was weighing you down. He left because he thought it was the right thing to do. He left you, Isabel, because he loved you. He could not bare to see you miserable, and he could not bare the fact that you did not love him as much as he loved you." Dumbledore tried to make eye contact with me, but I would just look away. I hated it when people wanted to look right into my eyes when I was vulnerable. It made me feel weak.

"I did love him..."

"Don't lie to me, Isabel. You did not love him enough." I finally nodded, accepting this. It was the truth. I knew that Remus and I were not going anywhere.

"Onto the matter of Sirius, I believe you are becoming quite fond of him."

"I guess you could say that, Headmaster." I tried to hide my embarrassment. Two kisses, and I didn't regret them. What could this mean? There was no use in hiding this from Dumbledore anymore. He was the only person I could talk to about Sirius. If I bottled this up, I would probably go insane.

"Sir, what if I had grown feelings for Sirius?" I asked quietly. Dumbledore looked at me, shocked.

"You have grown feelings for Sirius?"

"I think so" I replied.

"My dear child, if being around him makes you truly happy, I would say that nothing is stopping you. Except, you must be cautious with him. He is a very unstable person, remember? Azkaban does not treat people well. His head will be filled with thoughts, and he will try to ward those thoughts off, but they will always be there. He has also had a very traumatic childhood. He is very immature at times because he never had the chance to live a real childhood. The only times he got to live his life freely was when he was at Hogwarts." Taking all this information in, it felt like a lot to handle at once.

"I know it may not seem as if you've known him for long, Isabel, but these things do not take long to blossom. You and Sirius need to have a talk."

"I realise that."

"Don't scare each other off." Dumbledore reached for my hand over the table and gave it a pat.

"You will know the right path to take. Remember that Remus is in the past. You are a wise girl, you will know the right thing to do." Dumbledore stood up and nodded at me. "Goodnight, Isabel." He walked out of my office, leaving me to sit in my pool of thoughts. I had to make a decision about this. I could not sit here any longer and weigh up pros and cons. I couldn't just sit here and say to myself _'Isabel, what about Remus? Remus, Remus, Remus, Remus.' _ Remus wasn't apart of this anymore, and he took himself out of my life. I stood up and walked to the door which lead to my private quarters. I changed into my night clothes and threw myself onto my bed. I was surprised at how composed I was at the moment. I guess it was just me attempting to keep myself together. Some people would have already broken apart already. I flicked my wand to the corner of the room and fell asleep to the sounds of the harp in the corner, and the words of Dumbledore. _'You will know the right path to take'._

* * *

That night, I dreamed of a different life to my own. I still lived in France. I never knew my own father, and I was now working as a model for one of my mother's friends. It made me sick to think this could have been my life. I tossed and turned throughout the night, hearing my mother's voice in my head, telling me that she loved me, and she wanted my father to take care of me. I didn't think that she meant it half the time. I finally woke, and sat up, almost breathless. I didn't want to dream of that ever again. Not my mother, and not France. I did not need my mother anymore, and I did not wish to see her. She did the exact same thing as Remus, she walked out of my life, not the other way around.

* * *

I had to drag myself out of bed that morning. That dream had taken it out of me. I got dressed and did my make up, trying to hide the awful bags that were sitting under my eyes. I looked like I had quite a bit to drink last night. Hopefully most people wouldn't take it that way. I brushed my long, jet black hair, forcing it to look decent. I put my heels on, grabbed my wand and trudged out of my office. I bumped into someone just before I reached the stairs, as I wasn't really looking where I was going. I glanced up to see a very unimpressed looking Severus Snape, who was glaring down at me.

"Good morning, Father" I mumbled.

"What is wrong with you this morning, Isabel?" He asked.

"I had a bad night" I replied, running my hand through my hair.

"I can see that. Were you drinking?"

"No! Of course not! Thanks for assuming the worst of me" I spat. God, I was a bitch in the morning. I had a reason to be pissed, though. My father didn't trust me. I didn't think it was too hard to actually give me the benefit of the doubt sometimes.

"Right, well I do not understand why you are so...lifeless."

"I had a bad night, I told you." Father rolled his eyes at me. It was obvious that he thought that my 'bad night' excuse was total bullshit.

"Why did you have a bad night?" Father asked me, his eyebrows raised. Why couldn't he just keep his hooked nose out of other people's business.

"I had a bad dream" I replied.

"How old are you, Isabel, three? Four? That is an absolutely terrible excuse!"

"How dare you say it is an excuse! I haven't been sleeping well and I had a bad dream. I hear it's common in muggles _and _wizards, so excuse me if I am being too common for you." The least he could do was ask if I was alright. He was my father, for Merlin's sakes. It was times like these where I was so very jealous of Tonks and the Weasley family. Both of their parents cared. I had one parent who cared, if you could actually call my father a parent. Maybe he was about half a parent. Father's gaze turned to the floor and he lowered his head. He knew he had done something wrong.

"I apologise" he said calmly.

I nodded, "your apology is accepted. I guess I'm just a little stressed out at the moment" I said. Stressed out was an understatement. There was Harry, Fleur and Gabrielle. There was Moody. There was Maxime. And now there was Sirius. Father stood in front of me and looked down at me, a softer expression on his face.

"You are a my daughter, and I will always protect you. I am sorry if at times you feel alone because I'm not such a great father, but you will always have a home with me." I nodded and a smile came to my face, because I was happy. Happy that Father would always be there for me.

* * *

I walked into class to see Fred and George sitting at the front of the room at their desks, their hands behind their heads, grinning. I walked to the front of the room and looked at the students. Where was Moody?

"Where is Professor Moody?" I asked.

"Dunno" Fred replied, shrugging his shoulders, "probably trying to get the pictures of the Cornish Pixies off his jars." I let out a small laugh, remembering their prank.

"We've got another prank lined up if you'd like, Isabel. We know he's been getting on your nerves, so what a way to pay him back than with your two protective brothers doing something to him" George told me. That hit me like a ton of bricks. They considered me their sister? Luckily, the rest of the class wasn't listening to our conversation. If they did, they may accuse me of playing favourites.

"You consider me a sister?"

"Of course we do!" George said. "And no one messes with our sister. Not Ginny and not you." I smiled, but couldn't let them do another prank. It would be way too irresponsible of me.

"I appreciate how much you both care, but I can't allow you to do something like that again. As much as I dislike Professor Moody, I need to be responsible and I need to show some leadership. I can't allow you to do something that could get you expelled." As hard as that was saying it to Fred and George, I hoped they got the message.

"She's right, Georgie" Fred said, a tone of disappointment apparent in his voice.

"We'll stick to other stuff. Thanks for looking out for us, Isabel."

"No problems, guys. I care about you two, and that's the only reason I said no. You get that, right?"

"Of course we - " George started to say before he was interrupted by a slam of a door. I turned around to see Moody walking into the room.

"Professor Moody" I said, "where were you? You're ten minutes late."

"I had something to attend to. I am hoping you were productive in that ten minutes,_ Miss _Snape."

"It's _Professor _Snape. And what I was doing was wondering where the senior teacher of this class was. After all, you don't particularly like me teaching the class, do you?" Moody was pissed off, in more ways than one. I wondered what he was up to. The class was still giggling from my retort. Moody glared at the students and they shut up instantly.

"Be quiet and get your books out" he snapped. I walked quickly to my desk at the side of the room, sat down and began marking first years essays. I wanted to keep out of it as much as I could. I know that I tried to stand up for myself, but sometimes, Moody was so intimidating.

* * *

By the end of the day I was extremely worn out. I marked so many pieces of work today that my hand was sore. I couldn't even eat dinner properly. I sat in my office behind my desk, wondering what my next move should be. I sat there, thinking of a memory that had just popped into my head. One of the good things about my childhood, and there weren't many, were the times that Mother showed us muggle musicals. She said they calmed her. I loved them, too. I remember a song that Mother would sing me to sleep with sometimes - when her husband was not at home. She never showed me the musical, only sung the song.

_Flashback_

"_Time to go to bed, my dear one" Mother whispered to me. She picked me up and took me to bed. _

"_Do I have to sleep, mother?" I mumbled. I was tired, but I wanted to stay up. Mother's husband wasn't home, and this was the only time Mother was allowed to tuck me in. My step-father thought that muggle music and music in general should not be allowed in anything. Educational books should be read before bed, he said. Mother was scared of him when he was around. Mother put me in bed and put the covers over me. She kissed my head and stroked my hair._

"_See the pretty girl in that mirror there? Who can that attractive girl be? Such a pretty face! Such a pretty dress! Such a pretty smile! Such a pretty Isabel!" She sung softly._

"_I feel pretty...oh so pretty" I sung before falling asleep. Mother kissed me on the head one more time._

"_I wished I could choose my girls over Louis. How I wish that we could be free of his controlling ways. You, Fleur and I will leave one day, my girl, and he won't be able to get us" Mother whispered into my ear. She stood up and left my room._

_End of Flashback_

My hand went to my chest as a tear fell from my cheek. All this time I thought that she chose her husband over me, and she didn't truly love me...she was just scared of her husband. I remember the routine that my step-father had. We'd look like a happy family, but when you went deep into everything, he was a controlling bastard. He was controlling my mother, and my mother wanted to be free. All this time I was blaming her for letting me go, when she never wanted to. I felt like a terrible, terrible person.

* * *

It was the end of the week, and it went without trouble. Fred and George didn't do anything to piss Moody off even more, Moody didn't do anything to piss me off even more, and Fleur and I had made up. We came to the conclusion it was just another one of those stupid sister fights that most siblings have. The bad dreams were gone, and they were replaced with the ones of my mother singing me to sleep. It was one of the happiest memories I had. I guess I was in a better place with everyone, except one person. I had to address this person, and it couldn't wait any longer. After nights of going over what I was going to do, after waking up and changing the decision I made the night before, I finally made a decision. And it was time to let him know.

* * *

I arrived at Grimmauld Place and took a deep breath in. It was time to move on from Remus and tell Sirius of my true feelings. It'd been there ever since the first kiss. The longing to see Sirius again. No matter how many times I told myself he was wrong for me, I couldn't stay way. I was falling for Sirius Black, and falling hard. I walked into the living room to see Sirius reading the 'Daily Prophet'. When he heard my footsteps, he put his paper down and looked at me. He sighed, and it seemed like a sigh of relief.

"Hi" I said.

"Hi" he replied. I sat down next to him. Sirius seemed happy to see me. I was surprised of his reaction, I thought he'd be a little annoyed that I walked out on him last time. I wondered if he knew that I walked out because of that picture of Remus. I saw that very same picture sitting on the mantlepiece, but it didn't get to me this time.

"We should talk" I told him. Sirius nodded and pursed his lips.

"Yeah, we should."

"Do you want to go first? Or should I go first?" Sirius gave me a small smile and took my hand.

"I'll go first." This was the moment I had been waiting for. Sirius Black was going to tell me how he felt about me. In the next minute, I was going to be either overjoyed, or heartbroken. "Isabel, I think you're stunning. Not just in looks, but your personality as well. I attempted to be mean to you when we first met because you were a Snape. I still don't like your father...he's a git. But, I like you a lot. I just am hoping that we can take this further. I would like to get to know you more, if that's alright with you." I smiled. That was exactly what I wanted to hear.

"I guess it's my turn now" I said with a small laugh. This wasn't my thing. "I feel the same way, Sirius. Whenever I kiss you all I can feel is fireworks. I walked out the other day because I was feeling guilty about Remus. I'm past Remus...we've moved on. I like you too, Sirius. When I say, like, I mean like you a lot...a whole lot..."

"Are you telling me that you fancy me, Miss Snape?" Sirius asked with a grin.

"That's exactly what I'm telling you" I replied.

"Then, I see that it's only fitting that we become a couple, and that you become my girlfriend" Sirius said. My face brightened as I nodded.

"I would love to be your girlfriend" I said. I laughed and leaned in for a kiss. Sirius gave me a short, sweet kiss before pulling back and hugging me tightly. This is the sort of place I wanted to be right now. I knew it wasn't exactly stable. I was now the girlfriend of a guy who spent twelve years in Azkaban who is innocent but running from the Ministry. He made me happy, though, and happiness is all I wanted.

"Wait..." Sirius said, taking hold of both of my shoulders, "are you sure that you want this. What about Moony? I need to know that I'm just a consolation for him." I understood why Sirius thought that, but this was the real thing.

"Remus left me and he's not talking to me. He made his decision for me then and there. You are no consolation for him and you never will be." Sirius smiled and kissed my head.

"That's all I wanted to hear" Sirius replied softly.

* * *

**A/N: There you have it - Isabel & Sirius are together! What do you guys think? Love it or hate it? I know some will think it's rushed, but they aren't exactly telling each other that they are in love with them.**

**Those lyrics in the flashback were from I Feel Pretty from West Side Story. Only fitting that her mother sings it to her daughter because of their Veela heritage.**

**Next chapter - the preparations for the Yule Ball start. Who will ask Isabel? And Christmas day arrives. She spends it with her two sisters, and one particular little house elf.**


	43. Sapphire

**Thanks to: MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, alexis, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, Claudine, PersonThatLikesYourStory, HPFan, Tessa, Rose_of_Dark_Life, UltimateLHOTPFan & theoneandonlybellariddle for your reviews last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

Sirius and I sat talking for a while. He told me of his Hogwarts days, and the stupid things that him and James Potter got up to. It was obvious he left the Remus stories out for a reason. Sirius also told me about Lily, Harry's mum. He told me how kind she was, and how it wasn't fair that she was dead, because she was one of the warmest people he ever knew. It was a heartbreaking story. I told Sirius about my family in France, and how I remembered the memory of my mother singing to me. I also told him about how close Andromeda and I were. He seemed to be happy that I had met Andromeda. When I arrived back in my office at Hogwarts, I had a huge smile on my face. It had been such a long time since someone would listen to everything I said. I guess Sirius just enjoyed the company. _**'It's more than company now, isn't it, Isabel? You are now a couple. You need to be there when he needs you. And this is a risk. If the Ministry finds you two together, you'll be sent to Azkaban. Are you ready for this sort of responsibility, Isabel?' **_Hell yeah. I'm ready.

* * *

It was Christmas Eve, and I was spending it by setting up the hall for the Yule Ball. I had no partner to go to the Yule Ball with, yet. It was a little disappointing, but I guess I could go it alone. Minerva, Filius, Father and I were standing in the middle of the hall, waving our wands everywhere. The Great Hall looked absolutely beautiful with its new setting. I thought we did a pretty good job with it, to be honest. Moody walked into the hall, a frown on his face.

"Glad you could finally make it, Alastor, but unfortunately, you are a little late. You see, we are all finished up here. What a pity" Minerva said, sarcasm in her voice. She wasn't on good terms with Moody after she saw him transfigure Draco into a ferret.

"I apologise, Minerva" Moody said.

"Yeah, sure he does" Flitwick muttered to me. I laughed under my breath so Moody didn't hear me.

"You've done a good job" Moody said, looking around the Great Hall.

"Yes, and it was without you" Father said, with a sneer on his face. I knew he didn't like Moody, for one reason and one reason only. He had that Defence Against the Dark Arts job. Father wanted it badly. So badly, I was scared that he would resent me when I take over. Moody glared at my father, who seemed quite happy with himself.

* * *

I was looking around the room, admiring our job. I was proud of my work. As I turned to see Ludo Bagman, Maxime and Karkaroff, I could see one person at the back, standing there, looking a little out of place. I walked closer towards them and realised who it was. Percy Weasley. I had not seen Perce for a while. Last time I saw him he acted like a bit of a bitch towards me.

"Ah, Professor Snape" Ludo Bagman said, "what a splendid job you did with Hall. You and your fellow Professor's should be proud. The Yule Ball here at Hogwarts will definitely be a night to remember." I smiled and went along with the Minister. He was an intimidating man, but he looked a little incomplete from my perspective, like he was missing something in life.

"Thank you, Mr. Bagman" I replied. Mr. Bagman, Maxime and Karkaroff passed me by, except Percy.

"Hey Perce. Or is it Mr. Weasley now?" I asked, my tone cautious. I didn't want to offend Percy. He didn't take it too well when I did.

"Good afternoon, Isabel" Percy replied, giving me a nod. Bloody hell, he was so formal now. He was so Percy. "I was wondering, Isabel..."

"Yes, Percy?" I asked. Was he going to ask a favour of me? After all this time he hasn't made an effort to talk to me, and now he wants a favour? Get real, Perce.

"As I have to go to the Yule Ball in place of Minister Crouch, because I've been promoted to Crouch's personal assistant, would you like to attend the Yule Ball with me tomorrow night? That is, if you haven't got anyone to go with yet." Ah, that's what he wanted. Thoughts scanned my head as to who else could possibly take me to the ball. None of the students, obviously, were allowed to take me. The staff? Er - no. Percy was the best offer I was going to get. Maybe he was decent on his own, without all his Ministry buddies around.

"Yes, Percy, I'd be happy to attend the Yule Ball with you" I replied, a small smile on my face. It'd be rude to turn him down.

"Fantastic. I shall meet you outside the Great Hall at approximately ten to eight." Percy nodded and walked off. I felt like I had just been ordered around by my father with the way Percy was acting.

* * *

It was Christmas Day, and instead of going to visit everyone like I did last year, I was going to spend it with my two sisters and Dobby. Before my sisters arrived, I wrote a letter to Sirius, it read...

**_Dear Sirius,_**

**_Merry Christmas._**

**_Sorry that I can't be there to spend it with you. I know your lonely._**

**_I didn't know what to get you, so I'll get you something later on._**

**_Isabel_**

**_x_**

I packaged up the gifts heading to the Gryffindor Common Room. One for Fred, one for George, one for Ron, one for the Ginny, one for the rest of the Weasley's, one for Harry and one for Hermione. I put them all into one big bag and had them sent to the Gryffindor Common Room. I would give Father his gift later. Then I remembered...my mother. After the realisation that I had that she cared about me, I had to at least send her a letter. I quickly took out a piece of parchment and my quill.

**_Dear Mother,_**

**_Merry Christmas._**

**_I feel very angry with myself. And I'm sorry. _**

**_I haven't made any contact with you because I thought you hated me. _**

**_I thought you wanted me gone. _**

**_Then I remembered that song you used to sing to me before I went to sleep. I remembered what you said to me afterwards. It's unfair on you, Mother. You shouldn't be his prisoner._**

**_I will free you from him one day._**

**_I'm sorry. Hang in there._**

**_I love you._**

**_Isabel _**

**_x_**

As I put the letter in its envelope, I wiped a tear. I loved my Mother, and I could not believe the way I had been treating her. It was unfair. I checked the time, and realised Gabrielle, Fleur and Dobby would not arrive for lunch until one o'clock, half an hours time. I had time to get these two letters off! I put my winter cloak around my dress and blazer, picked my wand and the envelopes up and left my office.

* * *

I walked to the Owlery to see my owl, Marieke, sitting there, as if she knew I was coming. I walked up to her and gave her the two letters and stroked her head. I had also not been paying attention to Marieke, and it made me feel guilty. She would always be my companion, whether everyone hated me or not. I looked into her yellow eyes and smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Marieke. Be safe." She let out a small sound and flew off. I walked out to the stairs and watched her fly away from Hogwarts in the snow. I took a breath in and looked around at the scenery. This place really was beautiful.

* * *

I walked back down to the dungeons, thinking what a great life I had. It may have its flaws, but I had everything and everyone I needed. Except my mother. I was hoping that she'd want to make some sort of contact with me eventually. I turned the corner to be greeted by Fleur, Gabrielle and Dobby. They were smiling and holding presents. I smiled down at the house elf, who was wearing a woolen hat, jumper and socks.

"Merry Christmas!" The three of them said to me.

"Merry Christmas" I replied, laughing. I waved my wand to open my office door, and let them in. I had set up a Christmas tree, and a table with four spots for us. The fire was on, and my office was warm compared to the corridors of the dungeons outside. Gabrielle passed me three presents, and I put them under the tree. Fleur passed me another three, and I did the same thing. I was surprised when Dobby passed me three presents. Dobby didn't have any money, yet he was getting gifts for us.

"Dobby, you didn't have to get us any gifts" I said.

"Dobby did, Miss Isabel. Dobby did need to get gifts for Miss Fleur, Miss Gabrielle and Miss Isabel!" I sighed and smiled.

"Well, come on, lets sit at the table."

* * *

Fleur, Gabrielle and I enjoyed a wonderful Christmas lunch. Dobby told us stories of what it was like working in the Hogwarts kitchens with all the other elves. Gabrielle found Dobby most entertaining. Fleur and I told stories of our childhood, and how we used to tease each other about our accents, and how Fleur would wonder why my hair was black. Gabrielle smiled and listened to the stories intently. She reminded me of Fleur at that age.

"Can we open presents now?" Gabrielle asked.

"Dobby would like that too!" Dobby exclaimed.

"Alright, come on. Let's sit near the tree" I said. We stood up and all sat down around the Christmas tree. Dobby sat next to Gabrielle, who was smiling. It was good to see Gabrielle so accepting of Dobby. Sometimes I would get worried that she would let her beauty to go her head. It seemed like Dobby and her had a good friendship. Fleur reached under the tree and began to give presents to each of us. Gabrielle received a bracelet from Fleur, a headband and a necklace from me and a pair of socks from Dobby. Fleur received a picture from Gabrielle, a pair of earrings from me and a woolen hat from Dobby. Dobby received socks from Fleur, socks and a picture from Gabrielle and a woolen jumper, woolen hat and socks from me. I received a picture from Gabrielle, earrings and a bracelet from Fleur and socks from Dobby. It was a great Christmas.

"Thank you Dobby" Fleur, Gabrielle and I said to the house elf. Dobby smiled at us as his green eyes lit up.

"Dobby wants to thank Miss Isabel, Miss Fleur and Miss Gabrielle. Dobby had the best Christmas ever."

* * *

It was five o'clock, and Gabrielle, Fleur and Dobby had just left my office. I was cleaning up when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see Pormona, Minerva and Poppy standing outside my door, looking alarmingly excited. The three women let themselves into my office and held up three bags. Three bags of make up, and all sorts of ridiculous accessories. I was frightened.

"Yes?" I asked.

"It's the Yule Ball tonight, Isabel" Minerva told me.

"Your point is?"

"You are going with one of the Ministry officials...aren't you? Percy Weasley? You'll have to look your very best, dear!" Poppy exclaimed.

"Shouldn't you be tending to sick students, Poppy?" I asked.

"Oh, they can deal without me for a few hours!" She said. Pormona grabbed my shoulders and sat me down in front of my mirror. The women scrambled to surround me, and tried to get the perfect spot. Minerva stood behind me and raised her eyebrows.

"Have you even picked out your dress robes?" Minerva asked. I rolled my eyes, I wasn't that unprepared.

"Of course I have! Do you think I'm stupid, Minerva? Do you really think that on the night of the ball that I would not have my dress robes?" I pointed over to one of my many closets, where the dress had been sitting for a year now. I adored the dress from the first time I laid eyes on it. It was beautiful. Mother always had impeccable taste. I never really had the chance to wear it, though. Minerva walked over to the closet and opened it. She seemed confused, because there were two gowns in there. The one from Mother and the one from Father.

"Which one?" She asked.

"The blue one" I replied. Minerva pulled it out, and the women gasped. Poppy jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

"It's beautiful!" Poppy exclaimed, running over to Minerva to look more closely at the dress.

"Who bought this for you?" Poppy asked, running her hand over the material. "It must have been extremely expensive by the looks and feel of it."

"My Mother. She gave it to me last Christmas. She always had amazing tastes in dresses." Poppy walked over to us with the dress and hung it up.

"You are going to look brilliant, Isabel" Pormona said, smiling at me. Maybe this wasn't going to be a bad night. Besides, I should get to feel beautiful for a reason other than my veela heritage for at least one night, shouldn't I?

"Let's do it" I said. Wide smiles grew on the faces of Minerva, Pormona and Poppy. What was I in for?

* * *

While Minerva and Pormona were busy at work with my hair, Poppy was sorting out all her make up from her bag. It scared me to know that I had no control over how I was going to look. I didn't want to make a fool out of myself in front of Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Poppy, Minerva and Pormona were happily talking between themselves, but I just stared ahead. It dawned on me that I had never attended a ball before. How do you act at a ball? How do you dance? I was sure I would have to dance with Percy at some stage. My head then went to Sirius. I wished that I didn't have to attend this stupid ball, I wished that I could go and see him.

"Why do you look so stunned, Isabel?" Minerva asked me.

"No reason. Just nervous."

"About what? Your date with Percy Weasley? Please, Isabel, it's him that should be stunned. He gets to take _you _to the ball. Not just anyone, _you._" Pormona laughed. The way she was talking about Percy and I made me a little edgy.

"What are you talking about?" I said. Pormona and Poppy laughed and shook their heads, as if they had an inside joke or something.

"Oh, my dear. How is it that you have not had any special male's in your life?" Poppy asked. I gulped down the huge lump in my throat. Bloody hell, secrets were hard to keep. Could you imagine if I came out saying, _'actually, Sirius Black and I...we're a thing now.' _I'd say one of them would faint.

"What about a certain man named Remus Lupin? I thought you two were pretty close when he was here" Pormona said. That struck something in me, hearing how other people viewed Remus and I. I could see Minerva keeping a very close eye on me now. She knew about Remus and I. She didn't know the full extent, but she knew how I saw him, and she knew how he saw me.

"I wouldn't know how Remus is. He doesn't talk to me anymore" I said, plainly.

"That's a shame" Pormona replied. Minerva hit her and glared at her. I tried my best not to laugh. I was never good at this 'girl talk' kind of stuff. Probably because I never had anyone to do it with, but I was enjoying it. Poppy, Minerva and Pormona had been through this kind of stuff before.

"Well, let me just say one thing" Minerva said, "you are much too good for Percy Weasley." I laughed, as did Poppy and Pormona.

* * *

After one and a half hours of hard work, Pormona, Poppy and Minerva put down their tools and told me to look in the mirror. My hand went to my mouth as I saw myself. For the first time in my life, I felt beautiful. I didn't feel beautiful because of my heritage, I felt beautiful because of me. I admired my hair, which had been curled, and it was in what the muggles call an 'Updo'.

"Thank you" I said to the three older women. They put their arms around me and hugged me tightly. They let go and Minerva smiled.

"Get into your dress, dear. The three of us have to get ready. We'll see you at the ball." Minerva, Pormona and Poppy all smiled before leaving me alone in my office. I took my dress off it's hook and went to my private quarters to put it on.

* * *

I had put the dress on, and it fit perfectly. I twisted and turned in front of the mirror. I felt amazing. I just hoped that I wasn't too overdressed. I walked to my jewelry box and opened it. I saw the sparkling bracelet that Eileen had given me and slipped it on I walked out of my office and looked at the time. It was 7 o'clock. I sighed, knowing it was going to take me ages to get up the stairs. I took out the _'Daily Prophet' _and began reading. I then heard footsteps and slammed my paper down. I just wanted to be alone for the smallest bit of time. I looked up to see Father standing there. He wasn't dressed up, he was in those bloody black robes he wares all the time.

"Hello, Father" I said, standing up. He looked at me up and down and I swear I saw a smile.

"I do not say this often...I actually don't say this at all...you look beautiful, Isabel" he said. I smiled and hugged him, which took him by surprise. I pulled back and looked him up and down.

"Why are you wearing that?" I asked.

"I don't like to dress up for things. Makes me feel out of place."

"Oh come on. It's just one night."

"No, I'm perfectly fine like this, thank you, Isabel. However, I believe you may cause some males to collapse tonight, just at the sight of you. Who is taking you to the ball, Isabel?" Father asked.

"Percy. Percy Weasley. He has to go in place of Minister Crouch" I told him. Father gave one nod, seemingly unimpressed. He seemed to just let that go, because he then took out a box and passed it to me. It was a black box, tied with yellow ribbon.

"Merry Christmas" Father said. I smiled at him and slowly untied the ribbon. I placed the ribbon on my desk behind me and then proceeded to open the box. My jaw fell open as I saw what was inside the box. I didn't deserve this at all. I had been lying to him about many things, and seeing this made me feel sick. How could I accept this? I touched the sapphire pendant sitting on the silver necklace. I looked up at my father and shook my head.

"I can't accept this, it's too much" I said softly. Father took the box from my hand, took out the necklace, turned me around and put the necklace around my neck.

"It goes perfectly with your dress, Isabel." I looked into the mirror and saw the necklace sitting there perfectly. It looked amazing with the dress. I turned to my desk and picked up a box and an envelope.

"These are for you" I said, handing them to my father. "Merry Christmas." Father looked down at them and nodded.

"Thank you. Now, it is time to go to the Ball. I would say you'll need help getting up those stairs, yes?" I nodded, smiling, just a little embarrassed. I grabbed my wand and Father opened the door. It was time to attend my first ever ball.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys. Hope you enjoyed that chapter. It was interesting to write, actually. Especially Percy.**

**To the reviewer who told me that they 'hate' my story - I understand people have different opinions and not everyone's going to like this, but how about a bit of constructive criticism?**

**Next Chapter - The Yule Ball. Fred and George take Isabel out on the dance floor, and Percy's not too happy about it.**

**Question: **_Now, speaking of what people like and don't like._

_Name one thing you especially like about my story..._

_Name one thing you don't like about my story..._

* * *

**Isabel's hair for the ball (but, ya know, darker) (remove the spaces) -**** style bakery teen . com / images / Eva % 20 Longoria % 2 0 Updo % 20 Hair .j p g**

**Isabel's dress (remove the spaces) - media . onsugar . com / files / 2010 / 03 / 11 / 4 / 291 / 2916226 /1dbf4c2f2 cab 14 de _ rachel _ gilbert _ navy _ gown . jpg**


	44. The Yule Ball

**Thanks to: HPFan, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, Tessa, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, alexis, PersonThatLikesYourStory, toneale'anncurtis & UltimateLHOTPFan for your reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Father helped me to walk up the stairs, because to be honest, I would have tripped over if I had attempted to do it myself. We made it up the stairs and into the main corridor. There were students in dress robes everywhere, and they all seemed to stop when they saw me. How freaking embarrassing. People who were talking stopped mid-conversation just to look at me. I could hear what they were saying, too.

"_Merlin's beard, look at Professor Snape! She looks hot!"_

"_Why is she with her father? How embarrassing if he's taking her!"_

"_I heard she's going with Percy Weasley."_

"_Why can't my hair look that good?"_

"_Best dressed so far."_

"Just ignore them, Isabel" Father said to me. I nodded, he was right. I didn't have to listen to their stupid comments. We reached the front of the Great Hall and Poppy, Pormona and Minerva instantly turned to me. Dumbledore, Maxime and Karkaroff, who were standing with them, looked up at me just after them. Great, I have to make an entrance. I looked to see Percy approaching the stairs. That made me feel more comfortable, I guess. I reached Percy and he smiled. The smile seemed sincere.

"Might I say that you, Miss Snape, look ravishing tonight" Percy said.

"Thank you Perce. You look quite dashing yourself" I said, looking at Percy's dress robes. Nice to see he had ditched the glasses for a night, too. Percy and I made our way over to Poppy, Pormona, Minerva, Dumbledore, Maxime and Karkaroff. They all stared at me in amazement. It was very awkward.

"Isabel, you look incredible" Poppy said to me.

"Thank you, Poppy."

"Indeed. Miss Snape, I must say you have quite the knack for making an entrance" Dumbledore told me. Maxime seemed a pissed off by the way I had dressed. I would have thought she wanted me to come in a potato sack or something.

"Severus, you must be proud of your girl" Karkaroff said, in a vicious tone. Father glared at him, becoming protective of me.

"Of course I am, Igor."

"Who would not be proud, knowing their daughter looks and dresses like a tramp!" Maxime laughed.

"How dare you!" Percy, Minerva, Poppy, Pormona and Father spat, all at the same time. Karkaroff seemed to be laughing. Filius was shaking his head at the situation.

"Madame Maxime, there is no need for such vulgar and inappropriate language, especially towards my staff" Dumbledore said to her. She raised her eyebrows at Dumbledore and turned away, like she just brushed the comment off or something. I hated her.

"Come, we should make out way into the hall" Percy said. Percy linked his arm in mine as we walked into the Great Hall.

As soon as we walked in, there were eyes on us. It was uncomfortable to see this many eyes on me, judging my appearance.

"I have to sit at the head table, so I cannot sit with you. Is this okay with you?" Percy asked. I nodded.

"Of course" I replied. I went and sat at the second table, full of teachers. Minerva, Father, Poppy, Pormona and Filius all sat at my table, too. Thank Merlin I was sitting with people that I felt comfortable with.

* * *

"Isabel, you look wonderful," Filius said. I smiled and nodded at him.

"Why thank you, Filius" I replied. Minerva looked around the room, checking if anything inappropriate was going on. I didn't blame her. Hormonal teenagers, dates and dancing was not a great mix. I would hate to think what would happen if my father got onto them.

"You alright, Minerva?" I asked. Minerva smiled and nodded.

"Just checking. Can you believe who some have these students have taken as their partners?"

"They're kids, Minerva. As if they know any better" Poppy said to her.

"Well the children obviously have an order. The dunderheads have taken the dunderheads, the smarter ones have taken the smarter ones" Father said.

"That's a horrible thing to say" Pormona said sternly. Father shrugged and turned away from Pormona. He hated it when people would backchat him. I knew that first hand. I wondered what Sirius was doing. Probably talking to that bloody house elf of his, or the hippogriff he had taken in. He definitely wouldn't be cleaning that house of his.

"Isabel? Something wrong?" Poppy asked me, snapping me out of it. I nodded.

"Yeah, fine."

* * *

The champions were announced in. First came Fleur and her partner, She looked so happy, like she was enjoying the position she was in. She looked beautiful. She deserved this night. Next came Viktor Krum. I had no idea who the person beside him was though, but she was easily the prettiest girl in the room. Her dress was to die for, and her smile...but she looked so familiar!

"Is that Hermione Granger?" Minerva whispered in my ear. I looked closely and realised that Minerva was absolutely correct. It was Hermione. She looked incredible. I noticed that Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang were walking in the room. Cedric's smile was infectious. Lastly, in came a very nervous looking Harry, who had Pavarti Patil on his arm. Oh, god, Harry. Why did you have to bring her? Harry trudged along behind the pack and looked completely oblivious to what was actually going on around him. I felt so sorry for him. My eyes scanned the rest of the room. Ron had attended with Padma Patil, Seamus Finnigan was with Lavender Brown, Fred was here with Angelina Johnson, Neville was with Ginny and...oh, Merlin. Draco was with Pansy Parkinson. Oh dear.

* * *

The champions had taken the floor, and the music started. Fleur and her partner began to move around the room gracefully, as did all the other couples, except Harry and Pavarti. Harry looked completely out of place. He couldn't dance, for starters, and Parvarti was a bit annoying from what I had heard. However, Pavarti Patil was quite pretty. Hermione had a huge smile on her face as she danced around the room with Viktor Krum. It was good to see someone finally treating Hermione with respect. Dumbledore then took the floor with Pormona to dance. Other people began to take the floor.

"Isabel?" Percy said, holding his hand out. I nodded, took his hand and walked onto the floor with him. We began moving around to the music, and Percy put on a smile for the crowd. How much did he want to make it at the top at the Ministry? I put on a smile too, for his sake.

* * *

It was time for the second dance, and Percy didn't seemed bothered whether we danced or not. I really wanted to dance this time around. It was my first ball. Why not make the most of it? I sat there, hoping that someone would ask me to dance. I looked around and sighed. Who here would honestly ask me? They were either intimidated, or they hated me, or they thought I was an immature little girl. I sighed, realising that no one was going to ask me. Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see Professor Dumbledore, holding out his hand.

"I wonder if I could ask you to dance, Miss Snape?" He asked. I smiled and took his hand gladly.

"Of course, Sir." Dumbledore and I took the floor and began to dance to the music.

"How is everything with Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, quiet enough so no one else could hear.

"Fine, Sir. As a matter of fact, things could not be better" I replied.

"That is wonderful to hear, Miss Snape! I am so glad that you have sorted out all your problems! May I ask, how are you and Sirius going about your relationship now?" Dumbledore asked, twirling me around the floor.

"We have talked, and we do have feelings for each other. We have decided that we should not ignore them."

"Wonderful! But, I must insist that you are to be careful!"

"I promise I'll be careful, Sir" I replied.

The music finished and Dumbledore stepped back and bowed at me. I smiled and laughed. Ever the gentleman, he was. Dumbledore turned away and walked away from me, and I left the floor to go sit by my father.

"You are quite the dancer" Father said to me as I sat down.

"You need glasses, Father, I'm afraid you are becoming blind."

* * *

I noticed Fleur getting a drink, and I knew this was going to be the perfect time to speak to her. She was quite the busy girl at the moment. I quickly walked up to her and waited for her to turn around. She turned around and gasped, putting the drinks down and putting her arms around me. She hugged me tightly before letting go and looking at me up and down.

"Your dress looks beautiful on you!" Fleur exclaimed. "You look amazing!" I smiled at my sister and examined her dress.

"Speaking of amazing, look at you. What a beautiful dress, Fleur."

"Thank you. Mother helped me pick eet out."

"Of course, Mother. She always had incredible taste in dresses, didn't she?" I said.

"Oui. She did."

"So, who is this boy you are with?" I asked, looking over at the boy that was waiting for Fleur.

"His name eez Rodger. Rodger Davies! 'E eez my partner for tonight! 'E attends 'zis school!" Then it clicked, the notoriously handsome Rodger Davies. He always had a way with the ladies at this school.

"Ah, Ravenclaw. I know him."

"Zat boy eez very sweet. I like him" Fleur told me. I smiled at Fleur, but then the overprotective sister instinct kicked in.

"Just be careful, Fleur. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Ah, do not worry over me! I am fine!" Fleur said. I just had to believe what she was saying. She was old enough to make her own decisions. Fleur looked over my shoulder and gave one nod. I turned around to see Percy speaking to Filius and Moody.

"Zat eez your date, eez eet not?" Fleur asked. I nodded.

"It's Percy Weasley. He asked me yesterday whether I wanted to attend the ball with him because he had to take over from his boss. He works at the Ministry." Fleur smiled and her eyes lit up. God, no, I had given her the wrong idea.

"A man with power! Mother will like him!" Fleur said.

"No, Fleur. We are just friends. I am not involved with Percy" I said. Of course I am not involved with Percy. I am already with someone else. Sirius. How I wished that one night Sirius and I could attend a ball like this, and no one would ask any questions. Sirius would be innocent, and we'd be accepted. That was wishful thinking, though.

"Alright. Whatever." Fleur smiled at me before walking past me to get back to her date.

* * *

As I poured myself a drink, someone came prancing over to beside me. I turned to see Hermione Granger, smiling, as if she were in heaven. It was kind of cute, but kind of funny to watch at the same time. Hermione was in a sort of trance, by the looks of it. I looked over to a table not far from us to see Viktor Krum sitting there.

"Hermione?" I said. She looked at me and grinned.

"Professor Snape!"

"Isabel...remember."

"Right, sorry, Isabel. Hot, isn't it?" She asked me. I shook my head.

"No, not really" I replied, shrugging my shoulders. Then, I realised what she meant. I nodded my head and raised my eyebrows at Hermione.

"Got your eye on a particular Durmstrang, I see?"

"He is incredibly sweet, Isabel. And he treats me like I am worth something. Is it crazy to feel so much for a guy you haven't known for long?" Hermione asked me. I shook my head. That was the situation with Sirius and I. I hadn't known him for very long, but I already felt so much for him.

"I better get back to Viktor" Hermione said, picking up two drinks. She smiled and began to walk away.

"Hermione?" I said.

"Yes?" She replied, turning around to face me.

"You look extremely pretty, tonight" I told her. She smiled before turning away and walking off.

* * *

I sat there, by myself, as Percy was talking with different staff members. I wanted to go see Sirius. I was tired and I was sick of being left here, by myself, so Percy could talk himself up with different people. Someone jumped in the seat next to me, and then another person jumped in the other seat next to me. I looked to my left, and then to my right. Of course. Of course it would be Fred and George.

"Isabel," they both said at the same time.

"Care for a dance?" Fred asked. I sighed. I couldn't say no to these two. I stood up, as did Fred and George. Fred took my left hand, and George took my right. They pulled me out to the dance floor and started to dance. Fred twirled me around him, then George did. I laughed, feeling stupid, but I didn't care. These two were just a heap of fun.

"Come on, Bellsie, get into it!" George said. I didn't know what I was doing anymore. I just danced along to the music with Fred and George by my side.

"Oh great, here comes trouble" Fred said, stopping and turning around. I stopped and turned to see Percy, his face red, heading towards us.

"Isabel!" Percy snapped, "do you know how much embarrassment you just caused me! A teacher dancing with students, that happen to me my brothers!" I rolled my eyes as George moved to stand closer to me.

"Percy, you git, she's not your accessory!" Fred spat.

"She was my partner tonight. She'll behave by my rules! Come along, Isabel. We must apologise to - " Percy grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away from Fred and George. Fred wouldn't have any of it, and he pulled me back towards him. Percy went to grab my arm, but in the heat of the moment, his elbow went a little higher than intended, and hit me right in the face. Fred stared his older brother down and held onto me protectively.

"Don't do that to her again!" Fred snapped. "She is not a toy. You stupid git. Get out of here." Percy looked at me once, then looked at his brothers and walked away, fuming. Fred and George turned to me. Fred put my arm around his neck, because I could have collapsed at any moment. I was too tired for this kind of conflict. Percy's aggressiveness had taken it out of me. No doubt Molly was going to hear about his sometime soon.

"You alright, Isabel?" George said. I nodded, but the truth was, I felt very faint. "Lets get you out of this crowd." It was a blessing that happened in a crowd, so no one really saw what was going on. Fred helped me out of the crowd, and sat me down at a seat. Minerva, Harry and Father all rushed over to me.

"What's going on?" Harry asked. Father kneeled in front of me and lifted my head to look right at him.

"It was Percy. He grabbed her arm and held it tightly. I grabbed her back from him, but when he went to take her again, he elbowed her in the face" Fred said, sitting next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Insolent little..." Father began to say. Minerva touched him on the arm.

"Not now, Severus. Thank you for helping her, Fred. George." Minerva said. With that, she walked away.

"I'll take you back to your office" Father said.

"No, don't. Go with Minerva," I said softly. Father looked at Fred, then George, then Harry and nodded. As much as he disliked the three of them, he knew I would be safe with them. Father turned on his heel and walked off. I could not believe this happened to me tonight. And it was Percy that did it. Percy was always a calm person. He never became aggressive. He was raised properly! Percy was a smart person, he wouldn't do this to a woman, would he? Maybe he was becoming power hungry.

"Isabel, do you need anything?" Harry asked. I shook my head and wiped a tear from my cheek.

"No. I just want to get out of here" I replied.

"I'll take you back to your office" Fred said.

"Thank you" I whispered.

"Do you want me to come?" George asked.

"No. Could you just cover with Angelina for me?" George nodded as Fred stood up, before helping me up. Fred and I were making our way out of the hall, Percy glaring at us from the doorway, where he had been cornered by Dumbledore, my father and Minerva.

* * *

I was so tired now, I was having trouble walking down the stairs to my office. Fred could feel that I was having trouble, so he picked me up and helped me down the stairs. I smiled up at Fred and then my head fell into his chest.

"Come on, Isabel, you have to stay awake to show me where your office is." I groaned as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"You go down here" I mumbled, pointing right, "and then it's the second door on the left." Fred opened my door and looked around.

"Where to now?" Fred asked. I pointed to the door in the corner. He walked over and opened the door, and then located my bed. He set me down on the bed as I took out my hair and took off my jewelry. I then put my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes.

"Not going to get changed?" Fred asked me. I shook my head and put the covers over me. I heard Fred laugh. He walked over and stroked my hair.

"Night, Freddie" I whispered.

"Night, Bellsie-Button" he whispered back.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed that and I also hope that I didn't let you down. It was quite an interesting chapter to write.**

**Now, guys, we are nearly at 250 reviews! Lets get there quickly. I know that I don't have the best and most reviewed story, but I really hope that this story can gain more reviewers. So, my task to you, my lovely little dedicated reviewers, is to bring people to this story! More reviewers would mean the world to me!**

**To alexis (and probably the rest of you wondering) - there are about 142 Chapters planned. Yeah, I know...that's a lot.**

**Next Chapter - The aftermath of the Yule Ball!**


	45. Keeping Secrets

**Thanks to: RandOm pErson, alexis, HPFan, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, UltimateLHOTPFan, Claudine, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE & Tessa for your reviews of last chapter.**

_**To everyone - I would love it if you would review! Even if it's just a short little one! Reviews mean a lot to me and keep me motivated.**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

After a disastrous nights sleep, I woke up and looked down at myself. I was still wearing my dress. I then remembered the very end of last night, and how Fred had to carry me back to my office while I was half asleep. I felt so embarrassed. I got out of bed reluctantly and changed out of my dress and into my normal clothes. My hair was still wavy from last night, but I couldn't be stuffed changing it.

* * *

"Hello, you," said a voice from behind me. I turned around to see Fred walking towards me, George just behind him.

"Good morning, boys," I said, "what can I do for you?"

"We were just wondering how you were holding up," George told me.

"Yeah, that stupid git that we have to call our brother was so out of line. Just wait until mum finds out..." Fred said. I laughed under my breath and nodded. Molly would be ruthless. I ran my hand through my hair and looked up at the twins.

"Thank you for last night," I said to them, "especially you, Fred. It wasn't fair the way I made you take me back to my office."

"Don't be ridiculous, Isabel. Our brother was practically physically abusing you. As if we weren't going to step in and do something about it," George told me, before grinning. "And Fred will always be here to take you back to your office when your half asleep. I'm not strong enough to carry you." I laughed and shook my head. George always had to make a joke out of everything. That was one of the reasons we got along so well.

"It was irresponsible of me," I said.

"You were elbowed in the face by Percy, it wasn't irresponsible of you," Fred replied. I nodded, accepting this. I had to stop blaming myself when it came to things such as this. This was Percy's fault. I didn't ask to be elbowed in the face.

"Thanks again. I better go," I told them. I smiled and then turned away from them.

"Enjoy the rest of your holidays, Professor!" They both called out at the same time. I shook my head and continued to walk away, a smile on my face. This day was off to a great start.

* * *

Hours turned into days, and days suddenly turned into two weeks. The holiday's were going quickly. I was making the most of my time. I was spending time with my sisters, having chats with Harry, mucking around with the twins and spending time with Sirius. I was able to see Sirius more during the holiday's, which made me feel happier in some ways. It was like I was becoming addicted to him, and that fact made me scared, but it also made me excited. I began to feel bad, though, every time I was around Harry. I wanted to tell him that Sirius and I were together, but it was too risky. Hopefully one day I wouldn't have to keep it a secret anymore.

* * *

I walked into the dining room at Grimmauld Place. It was an inconvenience, me being at Hogwarts and him being here, but he was worth it. Sirius was not in the dining room, so I headed to one of the living rooms. I looked around carefully and realised, he was not in there either. Where would he be? He couldn't possibly be anywhere but this house, because it was dangerous for him to be outside these walls. I thought about upstairs. I had never been up there, but there was a first for everything. I walked up the creaky stairs, into darkness. I took out my wand and pointed it in front of me.

"Lumos," I whispered. The tip of my wand lit up. I then took my first glimpse of the upstairs area of Grimmauld Place. It was dirty and beyond disgusting. Mould grew on the walls, the floorboards had holes in them, the rug over the floorboards was tattered...how could anyone live in these conditions?

"Sirius? Sirius, are you here?" I called out. There was a loud thump behind me and I jumped. I turned and pointed my wand to behind me, checking out the area. Nothing was there. My heart was racing. This was beginning to get frightening. I turned back around and fell backwards as a grinning face stood in front of me.

"Shit! Sirius, that was not funny!"

"You should have seen your face!" Sirius laughed. He held out his hand and helped me up. He went to kiss me, but I pushed him back. He didn't deserve affection after what he just did to me.

"Oh, Isabel, it was just a joke." Sirius' tendency to roll his eyes and laugh at me was becoming truly annoying.

"Well, it wasn't a very funny joke to me. You scared me."

"I can see that, you fell backwards onto your arse." That tipped me over the edge. I pushed Sirius back into the wall and began my descent down the stairs.

"What was that for?" Sirius called out.

"For you being an arse!" I yelled back, sticking my middle finger up at him on my way down the stairs. Merlin, he pissed me off sometimes. It was like he was a hormonal teenager or something. Sometimes, he'd be the sweetest person I know, and then the other times it was like he had the maturity of a first year. Before I reached the bottom of the stairs, I felt arms wrap around my waist before picking me up.

"SIRIUS! Put me down!" I screamed.

"Nope, not until you forgive me."

"Fine! Fine! I forgive you! Now put me down!" He carried me into the living room and put me back on the ground. He tucked my hair behind my ear and pressed his lips to mine. I could tell he had been waiting to do that ever since I got here. I smiled as Sirius pulled back.

"Do you really forgive me?"

"I do."

"And do you know I'm a git?"

"Yeah, I do know that."

"Well, we're on the same page, then. Lucky us."

A small laugh fell from my mouth. "Lucky."

* * *

"So, what brings you to my humble abode?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows at me. I didn't understand why I needed a reason to come to Grimmauld Place. Sirius and I were in a relationship now - I shouldn't need a reason to come along and see him. I yearned to be around him, and I wanted to be around him as much as I could. The trouble was my position at Hogwarts. Traveling between here and Hogwarts was getting tiring. It was also very dangerous. I couldn't begin to imagine the trouble that I'd be in if the Ministry found out about all of this.

"I wanted to see you," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Getting bored with your glamorous life as a Hogwarts professor? I don't blame you."

"I am not bored with my life! And it's holidays,so I am not teaching! I'm just..."

"Just what?"

"You wouldn't understand, Sirius." I just wanted to change the subject. I hated talking about these things. I didn't want Sirius to know these sides of me. The selfish sides...

"Sure I would. Besides, it's my job to listen to you go on and on about that sort of stuff..."

"Alright then...er...I'm not particularly satisfied with my life at the moment. I'd always dreamed of something bigger."

"You're not satisfied with your life? Isabel, I was in Azkaban for twelve years of my life. I think you've got a pretty good life compared to what I went through." He was right. How could I be so stupid complaining about my life when Sirius hasn't had the greatest run. I felt like such an idiot. Sirius' expression told me everything. He knew that I was sorry, and he knew I regretted saying it now.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"I know you're sorry. It's alright, I don't think I should be bragging about being in Azkaban."

"You aren't bragging."

"Let's just forget this whole topic of conversation. Come here." Sirius put his arm around me and pulled me towards him. He held me tightly and kissed the top of my head.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Sirius said. My head rested on his chest as I smiled. When I was a child, I'd always dream of a man calling me beautiful, and truly meaning it. Here I was, years later, in the arms of Sirius Black, being told that I was beautiful.

"Thank you," I said.

"For what?"

"Just being here. For being alive." I snuggled up to Sirius and found myself feeling tired. Soon enough, everything went dark, and I was asleep.

* * *

"Isabel...Isabel...wake up."

"Sirius?" I mumbled. I opened my eyes and looked up at the man who was holding me in his arms.

"Sirius...how long was I asleep for?"

"An hour or two," he replied, grinning.

"And you just sat there, watching me?"

"You are adorable when you are sleeping. You make these little sounds - "

"I know. Those sounds are embarrassing," I groaned.

"Did you sleep well?" Sirius asked, continuing to grin.

"Yes, I did, actually."

"Doesn't surprise me. Who wouldn't sleep well in my arms?" Sirius replied. I rolled my eyes and leaned up to kiss him. To my amazement, Sirius leaned his head away from mine. I released myself from his arms and sat upright. He just rejected me.

"What was that?" I asked.

"What was what?"

"I just tried to kiss you and you leaned away from me."

"Oh, that. Er - you have bad breath," Sirius said.

"You've got to be kidding me. I do not have bad breath!"

"You kinda do." I brought my knees to my chest and frowned. He was making fun of me, and I wasn't enjoying it. Suddenly, Sirius burst out into laughter.

"I don't find anything funny."

"I do. You are hilarious, Isabel, I'm telling you. I was just kidding around. You need to lighten up a bit, my dear." Sirius leaned in for a kiss, but I wasn't having a bar of it. I leaned my head away and laughed. I jumped off the seat and smirked at him.

"You need to learn that I'm not the submissive type, my dear." Sirius jumped up, and I knew that he was going to attempt to get a kiss from me, no matter what I did. I turned around and tried to run away, but he grabbed me around my waist before I could get anywhere. He turned me around to face him and kissed me softly. It was times like these that I knew I was lucky to have him.

* * *

The next day, I sat at the front of the library, reading my book on potions and watching as the students made their way in and out of the library. Madame Pince was eyeing me suspiciously. She never trusted me from day one here. I didn't care what that bitter old woman thought, anyway. She probably just thought I was a threat to her or something. I toyed around with the piece of parchment in my pocket, wanting desperately to write on it. But what would I write? Maybe I could write to Remus? No. No, I couldn't do that? Merlin, my mind's running away from me.

"Professor Snape?" I continued to read, pretending not to hear the person who said my name. I knew the voice, but I had to finish this book. The person coughed, trying to get my attention, but I ignored them, again.

"Professor?" It seemed apparent that this person would not give up, so I glanced up out of my book to confirm my suspicions to who it was. I placed the book on the desk in front of me and gave the person my full attention.

"Hello, Draco. Why are you calling me Professor?"

"Sorry, Isabel. I thought in the library I needed to be more formal. Madame Pince is watching my every move. She doesn't trust me." Why didn't that surprise me? Draco wasn't exactly the most trustworthy person if you didn't know him. He was a Malfoy, after all. People were probably just going off what they said about his father.

"What can I do for you, Draco?"

"I need to ask what...well...why Professor Moody is so rude to me? Usually I couldn't care if a teacher hated me, but this guy turned me into a ferret."

"I couldn't answer that Draco. Professor Moody is rude to me, too."

"I can see that." How could he see it? Usually, Moody gave me the silent treatment in class.

"What can you see?" I asked.

"In class, I can see the way he treats you. It's as if you are nothing to him, and the only reason he's keeping you around is because Dumbledore wants you there. I can see that you fear him, too. He intimidates you, and that's why your silent most of the time in class. If I were you, I'd begin to stand up for myself." If only you knew, Draco.

"So you have no idea why he hates me?"

"I don't think he hates you, Draco. I just think he doesn't respect you. I'm in the same boat, though. He doesn't respect me, either. He thinks I am a little girl capable of nothing."

"He doesn't know you, then." I smiled at Draco's compliment. I wished he'd be like this around everyone. I'd say that I'm the only one to know this softer side of Draco, and it was saddening.

"I have to go and study for potions."

"Need any help?" I asked. "I was pretty good at potions, too."

"You take after your father." Everyone said that, and I believed it to be true now. We had so many similarities between us. I was obviously my father's daughter.

"You have no idea, Draco."

"Thanks for offering to help, but I would say that your father would know if you helped with my work. I'll see you later Isabel." Draco shot me a small smile, and I knew it was genuine. He wouldn't dare to do that with anyone else except Narcissa. Draco turned away and walked off.

"That boy is trouble," I heard Madame Pince say from behind me. "As much trouble as Harry Potter. You should be setting an example, Professor. You should not be interacting on a personal level with students, especially students such as that, and you should definitely not be letting your students call you by your first name! What a travesty!"

"Be quiet, you old hag," I replied, picking my book up, leaving the library and the sour old woman to herself.

* * *

I sat at my desk that night, marking essays on grindylow's. It amazed me how much some of these students researched the topic further, and how many didn't. Like my father, I was ruthless when it came to marking work. Few students got the highest marks with me, because there's always room for improvement. The only student I've ever continuously gave top marks to is Hermione Granger. That girl was the brightest witch I had come across in a while. There was a soft knock at my door, so I flicked my wand at the door for it to open. The door opened slowly, and behind it was Fleur and Gabrielle. Gabrielle's eyes were red, and her face was blotchy. She had been crying. I stood up and quickly walked over to her. I kneeled down and put my hands on my youngest sister's shoulders.

"What happened?"

"We received a letter from Mother..." Fleur said. Fleur was more pale than I had ever seen her. Something was wrong.

"Come in, both of you. You look like you've just seen a dementor." I ushered them into my office, and then into my private quarters. I sat them down at my bed, and then sat at the bed myself.

"What's going on?" I asked the both of them. Fleur reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment. I opened it up and began to read it.

_**My Fleur & Gabrielle,**_

_**I hope you are enjoying your time at Hogwarts. I also hope you are enjoying your time with your sister. Isabel is a good person and she is your sister, no matter who her father is. You both need to remember that on your visit.**_

_**Fleur, I give you all the luck in the world for the Second task in the Tri-Wizard tournament. If you need any help, talk to Isabel. She will give it to you. Don't let the fact you are the only female champion put you off - you are as good as any of those other boys.**_

_**Gabrielle, I just hope you continue to be safe. Make some new friends while you are there! I love you.**_

_**Fleur, make sure Gabrielle stops reading at this point. I have some bad news to share with you now. Your father lost his temper with me again. He went out the other night with some of his friends, and came home to me, drunk. He attempted to do something that I did not want to happen, so I pushed him away from me. He lost his temper and hit me in the face. Do not tell Isabel, please. I beg you. She will only try something stupid. I can handle this on my own.**_

_**I love you, Fleur. Tell Gabrielle I love her, and tell Isabel I love her.**_

_**Your mother.**_

I threw the letter on the ground as I clenched my fist. I was attempting to keep a cool head, but I was afraid I would fail. How dare he treat her like that! How dare he treat her like she is nothing but a play toy! My father would never do such a thing to her. Sirius would never do such a thing to me. So how is it alright for him to do that to my mother? And how can she be handling this on her own? Why would she keep this from me?

"Isabel," Fleur said, tears falling from her face, "I could not keep this from you anymore."

"How long has this been happening?" I asked, fighting tears away. I had to stay strong for my sisters.

"A while now. Gabrielle knew about eet before any of us. She saw eet happen." I looked down at my youngest sister, who had her face buried in one of my pillows. I held her by the arm and brought her up to hug me.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you," Gabrielle cried.

"You shouldn't have to see something like that in the first place. What are we going to do about this?"

"Nothing. We'll do nothing," Fleur said. I turned to look at her, my face full of shock.

"What do you mean we'll do nothing? Our mother is getting hurt by the man that apparently loves her!" I said. Gabrielle's face was now buried in my arm.

"This eez for the safety of you, Gabrielle and I. We can not do a thing! If our father ever found out that we knew, he'd hurt us, too. Please, Isabel. Just let Mother deal with this herself." It was true. If he did find out, he'd hurt Gabrielle and Fleur. He'd hurt me even worse if he had the chance too. As much as I wanted to help my mother, I didn't want my younger sisters to be abused.

"Fine," I sighed, nodding.

"And you cannot tell Mother that you know," Fleur said.

"Fine."

"We are een this together, Isabel! Mother is a smart woman, she will find a way out." This news had me rattled now. I felt pale, I felt shaky, I felt horrible. I felt horrible that I couldn't do a thing for my mother.

"You two better go and get some rest. I love you both." I tried to smile as my sisters left my quarters and my office, but they knew it wasn't real. I now faced the job of keeping this a secret, whether I wanted to or not.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys. I had heaps of trouble writing this chapter - I had no idea what to put in it. Finally, though, we learned the truth about Isabel's step-father. What do you think Isabel will do about it?**

**Over 250 reviews! Well done, guys. From now on, I'd like over 10 reviews I chapter, so we can get to 300 very quickly. It's not that hard to do!**

**_Next chapter_ - The Second Task! Isabel becomes a little frantic when she can't find Gabrielle...**

**_Question for this chapter:_**

_Who is your favourite couple in Harry Potter? _

_and..._

_Who is your favourite couple in this story? It can be Isabel with any male that has shown particular or some sort of interest at some point in the story._


	46. The Second Task

**Thanks to: HPFan, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, alexis, Reliaxx, Tessa, Volleyballlover23, renesnee, AmandatheBookworm, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, UltimateLHOTPFan & LaFlorine for your reviews of last chapter.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**'Sideways' by Citizen Cope  
'Lump Sum' by Bon Iver  
The Sister's Theme [Fleur, Gabrielle & Isabel's Theme] - See Profile  
__Sirius & Isabel's Theme - See Profile _

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

It was the night before the second task, and I decided that I needed to go to see Sirius. He needed to be reassured that Harry would be fine. _**'As if you'll be reassured. Remember last time?' **_My head was right. I was frightened as hell during the first task. I didn't want Harry to get hurt, though. I had a perfectly good reason to be scared. Not to mention my younger sister was apart of it, too. I walked to my fireplace and threw some floo powder in. I didn't know how this was going to go.

* * *

I staggered out of the fireplace and onto a waiting chair once I had arrived. I needed to get better at my arrivals. The door opened and the floors creaked as a house elf made his way into the room. It was Kreacher. He stared at me, obviously wondering what I was doing here.

"Half-blood girl, leave. My mistress would be disgusted at the sight of you," Kreacher spat at me. I was surprised at how rude he was. He looked like he wasn't treated very well, yet he was still loyal to the Black family. It was mind boggling. I wasn't a specialist at house elves, but I'm pretty sure they were loyal to whoever treated them well.

"I'm not going to leave. I have a right to be here."

"Master Sirius is making a mistake, letting half-blood's into the house..."

"Kreacher!" A voice yelled. I jumped and looked to the doorway. Sirius was standing there, glaring at Kreacher. "Leave Isabel alone. Get out of here."

"Yes, Master," Kreacher replied, bowing at Sirius. Kreacher walked slowly out of the room and shut the door behind him. I know Kreacher was a bit of a bastard towards me, but I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him with someone like Sirius marching around, giving him orders. Sirius could be quite overbearing.

"I'm sorry about him. He isn't very pleasant," Sirius said to me, sitting down and planting a kiss on my cheek as his arm went around my shoulder.

"Maybe he wouldn't be so unpleasant if you didn't yell at him all the time" I muttered back.

"What was that?" Sirius asked, obviously not hearing what I had just said.

"Nothing. Don't worry."

"I'm not worrying," Sirius replied. I rolled my eyes at him, remembering how childish he could be sometimes. I shook it off, knowing that he wasn't like that all the time.

"The Second Task is today," I told Sirius.

"What?"

"You heard me, Sirius," I said softly.

"How's Harry? Have you talked to him yet about it all?" Sirius asked. I was surprised at how little I had talked to Harry over the past few weeks. I was disappointed in myself for not being as supportive as I should. Harry needed support from everyone. He was so tough, but underneath it all, he was just another boy trying to find his way in the world.

"I haven't spoken to him today. I thought it was best to keep out of his way. He needs time to himself."

"He needs advice! You can't expect him to go into this alone, can you?" Sirius snapped at me, removing his arm from around my shoulder.

"It isn't my place to say anything to him, Sirius," I spat back. I saw the look on his face, and retreated. "Well, I do say things to him, but this isn't what I'm saying! He isn't going into it alone! He has Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione...plenty of people for him to lean on. I've given him enough advice already and it hasn't appeared to be that useful."

"You're my girlfriend now, and that means that Harry will listen to you above anything else!" What did he mean by this? He didn't expect me to tell Harry, did he? I couldn't tell anyone. It was too much of a risk for not only me, but Sirius and Harry, too. "Harry will listen to you more than he ever has, now."

"Harry doesn't know, Sirius! No one knows!" I yelled at him. Sirius furrowed his eyebrows looked at me, shocked.

"You haven't told Harry? I didn't care who else you told, I just wanted Harry to know about us." Was he an idiot? If anyone found out about us we'd be dead.

"I don't want anyone to know about us."

"So we're just one big secret," Sirius said, "fantastic. My girlfriend is ashamed of me."

"You were in Azkaban! Your hiding from the Ministry! What do you expect me to do? Yell to the whole world that we're together or something? It's best for both of us if we don't tell anyone."

"You mean it's best for you, Isabel. Whenever it's best for you." I rolled my eyes and stood up. I didn't have to deal with this crap. If Sirius wanted to be this childish loser, he could go ahead.

"I'll see you later, Sirius, when you grow up."

"Wait, Isabel, don't go."

"Why shouldn't I go? Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe we were a complete mistake."

"No, no we weren't. Listen, Isabel, I'm a git, I realise that. I'm just taking out my frustrations on you...and I shouldn't. I'm sorry. Just sit down, please." I sighed and sat back down next to Sirius.

"Thank you," Sirius said softly.

"We have to stop fighting like this," I told him, "it's unhealthy for our relationship."

"I completely agree. I don't want to see us like that. You know I'm crazy about you, Isabel?" I smiled as he said that. I was crazy about him, too. I nodded and he grinned back at me.

"Sirius Black is crazy about me. I feel incredibly special at the moment."

"You should, not many women are worth my time," Sirius replied with a wink. How on earth did someone like me fall for someone like him? We were complete opposites. Although, what was that muggle saying? Opposite's attract?

* * *

I was back at Hogwarts, and feeling better than I did when I left, but it still had me worried that today, my sister and one of my closest friends would be in danger yet again. I needed to speak to Gabrielle to see how she was doing, not only with Fleur but with our mother. To see your mother hit by your father...it must have been horrifying. In some ways, I felt guilty for never returning to help them, especially Gabrielle. Now I felt even more guilty because I had to keep away from it. I hoped Mother wouldn't get hurt just because I wasn't allowed to intervene.

* * *

I left my office to look for my youngest sister. She must be feeling more nervous than me about today. Gabrielle truly was an amazing girl. I only wished I was like her when I was her age. I had to worry about keeping a huge secret when I was at her age - a secret that came out and was threatening to destroy the Delacour family at the moment. As I went to walk down the stairs towards where the Beauxbatons students were staying, I saw Minerva heading towards me.

"Isabel! Good morning."

"Good morning, Minerva. How are you?" I asked.

"Good, good. A little nervous about today, but I would think you'd be feeling more nervous with Fleur and Harry of course. Oh, and not to mention your younger sister at the bottom of that lake!" I froze. Gabrielle? Black Lake? At the bottom?

"Isabel?"

"What do you mean my sister is at the bottom of the lake!" I exclaimed.

"Dumbledore didn't tell you?" Minerva asked me, her face showing that she wanted to take what she said back. Great, now I was frantic. I was feeling more and more relaxed until this little problem showed up.

"Isabel, for this task, each champion needed someone special for them to be taken away from them and placed at the bottom of the lake. That person was either going to be Gabrielle or you." I still wasn't convinced. I had to go and speak to Dumbledore about this! "Gabrielle will be fine, my child."

"What if she isn't?" I asked.

"She will be. Now calm down. I will see you out at the lake later, yes?" Minerva patted my shoulder before walking off.

* * *

I stormed into Dumbledore's office and slammed my fist onto his desk. He seemed nothing less than amused, and that pissed me off even more. How dare he put my youngest sister at the bottom of the Black Lake!

"I take it you have found out about Gabrielle, then? She is a brave little girl, that one," Dumbledore said, calmly. I slammed my fist on the table again, to show how angry I really was.

"How could you do that, Headmaster? She is too young for this!"

"She will be fine, my dear. Your father gave her something...a tad bit like a sleeping draught."

"My father knew about this?" I threw my hands up in the air. Now I'd heard everything. "This is my sister we are talking about!"

"He did, and he warned me that when you found out about this all that you would lose your head, or something along those lines." I sighed and put my hands on my hips. I had to calm down. Gabrielle wouldn't want me reacting like this. My head fell and my eyes shifted towards the floor.

"Headmaster, what if Fleur fails?" I asked, not looking at Dumbledore.

"Your other sister is very capable. You shouldn't be doubting her talents." My head snapped up quickly. How could he accuse me of doubting Fleur?

"I do not doubt her talents, it's just, I want to know Gabrielle will be safe."

"This is a dangerous tournament, my dear, and you have all the reason to be worrying, but trust me when I say this - I would never have let your younger sister go down there if I didn't think she'd come back up." Dumbledore was right. He would never put a child in danger if he knew that he couldn't save them.

"I'm sorry, Sir, I overreacted," I said, giving a curt not and turning around.

"My dear, you did not overreact. You were protecting someone that you love, which is one of the best traits someone can have. By the way, how is Sirius doing?" I stopped and turned back around. Dumbledore was the only one to know about Sirius, yet I found myself not wanting to talk about my relationship with him.

"I don't feel comfortable speaking of my relationship with Sirius with you, Headmaster."

"I understand, Miss Snape, however, I want to know only one thing. Is this relationship serious? Is it real? Do you see yourself with him in years to come? I am just asking this because what is the point in being in a risky relationship if you are not committed?" I was committed. This was real. I began to believe that I was truly in love with Sirius Black. I didn't want to admit it to Sirius, though, in case it wasn't as real to him. I did nothing but nod at Dumbledore. No words came out. Dumbledore nodded back to me, as if he understood everything. I pursed my lips and looked at the time.

"We should be going, shouldn't we? To the Second Task?" I asked.

"We should," Dumbledore replied, standing up, "Let's go."

* * *

I sat down in the boat opposite Madame Maxime and Minerva. Father sat next to me and I held onto him tightly. I hated boats. They weren't my cup of tea, especially wooden ones like this. It got me thinking that this task would be a lot more dangerous than the last one. There were dark creatures living in the depths of the Black Lake. It was worrying. Fleur had never been a great swimmer, and it would take a great deal of courage to face what is beneath the surface. Courage that I'm afraid she might not have just yet.

"Very good conditions today. Perfect for Fleur" Maxime said, smiling smugly at me. She did not have Fleur's best interests in mind, today. It was all about winning for her. It made me sick.

"Because you'd know all about Fleur, wouldn't you, Olympe?" I snapped. I didn't know what it was with her. I always needed to make a reaction to her.

"Isabel" Father whispered to me, "there is no need for this."

"Whatever. I don't even care anymore."

"You obviously do care, Miss Snape, or you would not pay any attention to me" Maxime replied. Merlin, I wanted to hex that woman.

"You know, Olympe, that being a stuck up selfish bit-"

"Isabel, that is enough!" Father spat at me. I glared at my father, but left it as it was. He knew what was best for me, and if telling me to shut up was one of those things, I'd accept it.

"Oh, look, she listens to her daddy." Father scowled at her, but didn't say a word. He was smart about it, unlike me. We had finally arrived at our destination, the middle of the Black Lake.

* * *

Harry, Fleur, Cedric and Viktor stood on the edge of the deck that they were standing on. I walked up behind Fleur and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Be safe," I said to her. Fleur looked into my eyes and nodded. She knew that every time she was in danger, I became frantic.

"I will. Do not worry, Isabel." I smiled and hugged Fleur tightly. She pushed me back and nodded, assuring me that she would be okay. Of course she'd be fine. Fleur was a very capable witch. Fleur kissed both of my cheeks and patted my shoulder.

"Go. I will be fine. I promise," Fleur said to me. I bowed my head and moved away from my younger sister. I had to let her do this on her own. I smiled before leaving her to see Harry, who stood on the other side of the deck. I walked up behind him and put my hand on his arm.

"Good luck today, Harry," I said, attempting to smile. I didn't know how I was smiling. I was deadly afraid that something was going to happen to Harry or Fleur.

"Thanks," Harry replied.

"You nervous?" I asked.

"Just a little," Harry said. In Harry talk, _'just a little' _would mean, _'extremely nervous.' _

"Trust yourself. You'll be fine."

"Thank you." I patted Harry's arm and walked away from him. Merlin, I hoped that he wouldn't get hurt. I went and stood back next to Minerva. I glanced over at the Durmstrang contingent, and they were all chanting Krum's name. They were an intimidating group, especially with Karkaroff leading them.

"Welcome to the Second Task!" Dumbledore's voice boomed over everyone else. "Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts." That made me flinch. Knowing that Gabrielle was down there made me panic, but I had to trust that Fleur could bring her back to us. "These four treasures, one for each of our champions, now lie at the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough, but they will have one hour to do so, and one hour only. After that, they'll be on their own. No magic will save them." Minerva looked at me, and I felt as if I had begun to hyperventilate. If Fleur didn't return in an hour, no magic could save her or Gabrielle. Merlin help me.

"You may begin at the start of the cannon." The cannon sounded, and in jumped Krum, Diggory and Fleur. Harry stood there for a little, squirming, before jumping into the lake. Now the waiting starts...

* * *

Minerva, Father and I stood on the deck, our backs turned to the water. I was feeling sick. I couldn't help but feel something was going to go wrong. Father placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Your sisters will be fine," Father said to me, "I promise you." That didn't make it any better. Suddenly, there was a splash, and someone appeared at the surface. I turned to see Fleur, splashing around, struggling to breathe. Gabrielle was nowhere to be seen. I rushed over to the edge of the deck and put my hand out.

"Fleur!" I exclaimed, helping her onto the deck and wrapping my arms around her. "Someone get me a blanket!" Minerva rushed over and put a blanket over Fleur's shoulders.

"What happened?" I asked, sitting Fleur down on the deck.

"Ze grindylows got me! Isabel, Gabrielle eez down there!"

"I know. I'll do something." I kissed Fleur on the head and hugged her again. "I'm glad your safe." I stood up and walked over to my father, wanting to know what was going to happen to Gabrielle.

"Father! What about Gabrielle? Now that Fleur is back, what will happen to her?" I asked, beside myself. Gabrielle was only a child! I knew Dumbledore shouldn't have done this.

"I do now know, Isabel. We will have to wait."

"Do I look like I am in the state to wait?"

"Go sit back down next to your sister, Isabel." I sighed and went back to Fleur. I honestly had never been more scared in my life.

* * *

The clock was getting closer and closer to twelve. Diggory had arrived back with Miss. Chang, and Krum had arrived back with Hermione. Harry, Gabrielle and Ron were nowhere to be seen. Fleur had her arm in mine, and we were standing there, looking out over the water. We were both in panic mode now.

"Where eez she, Isabel?" Fleur asked.

"I don't know, Fleur," I replied. I couldn't come up with any other answer except for that. My mind wasn't working properly. I was too preoccupied with worrying about my youngest sister. The clock struck twelve, and I held onto Gabrielle. All of a sudden, Gabrielle appeared at the surface with Ron. Fleur and I both breathed a sigh of relief before rushing over to the edge of the deck to help Gabrielle up. Once Gabrielle was up, I also helped Ron. Fleur, Gabrielle and I embraced, and I kissed Gabrielle on the head.

"I was so scared," I told Gabrielle. Gabrielle nodded and put her arms around Fleur. She had been through quite the ordeal.

"Ron, where's Harry?" I asked.

"He let us go...he's still under there..." Ron replied.

"What?" My eyes widened as I turned back to the water. Now Harry was in danger.

"Isabel, he's not in danger. No one ever was," Ron said to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Was this some sick joke?

"Do you honestly think that Dumbledore would put us into any danger? Especially Gabrielle? We were told before we went down there that no one was going to be in danger. No one knew except us, Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Madame Maxime, Karkaroff and Snape." So I spent all this time worrying about Harry and my sisters, when all this time it was nothing? I felt slightly embarrassed, but I also felt a little cheated. A few seconds later, Harry came blasting out of the water and landed on the deck. I grabbed a towel and walked over to Harry. I put a towel around Harry's neck and smiled.

"You're safe!" Hermione then ran up and put another towel around Harry and kissed his head. He was safe. Everyone was safe.

* * *

**A/N: Hello again everyone! I wasn't really happy with the way that chapter turned out, but I hope you enjoyed it. 11 reviews for last chapter, that's been a lot more than what I've had lately. Can we get over 15 for next chapter? Pretty please?**

**I have decided to share with you all the music I listen to when writing this story, which you will now see at the top of every chapter. Also, if you head to my profile, there are themes for:  
**Isabel  
Isabel & Sirius  
Isabel & Remus  
Isabel & Severus  
Fleur, Gabrielle & Isabel  
Tonks, Bill, Charlie & Isabel

**Next Chapter - Here is a preview...  
**"What do you mean there has been a death at Hogwarts?" I asked Minerva. This was serious. How could they continue this tournament if someone had died? I held fears for Harry more than anyone else, because it was him that had to be careful. He would most likely be the one being targeted.

**Question for this chapter - continuing with the theme of music, what song would you use as the main theme for this story so far?**


	47. Mysterious Happenings

**Thanks to: LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, alexis, Tessa, MissyPenguin, aliceAmnesia, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, Claudine & SexySnapeTime (haha, I can't believe someone reviewed under that name!)**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**'Holding a Heart' by Girl Named Toby  
'Trouble' by Coldplay  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Severus' Theme [See Profile]**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Darkness had fallen, and I was sitting in my office, drinking tea and reading a book. I enjoyed time to myself. It made me able to ponder my thoughts. I couldn't believe that Gabrielle, Harry and Fleur were never in any real danger today. It felt like some sort of joke. At least everyone was safe. My thoughts turned to Sirius. Everything was different around him. It was as if my feelings heightened when I was around him. I smiled to myself, thinking of the sweet way he treated me. Suddenly, somebody knocked on my door. I jumped and nearly spilled the tea in my hand. Minerva walked in, her face pale, her expression serious.

"Minerva? What's wrong?" I asked. She walked over to my desk and sat down. I could tell something terrible had happened, I just didn't know what it was.

"There has been a death," Minerva told me. I felt the blood go from my face. What did she mean there had been a death? I hoped to God that it wasn't anyone I was close to.

"Where?" I asked.

"Here, at Hogwarts. It happened after the Second Task."

"What do you mean there has been a death at Hogwarts?" I asked Minerva. This was serious. How could they continue this tournament if someone had died?

"Someone was killed. Murdered. Poor Mr. Potter found him in the grounds. Potter seems a little traumatised, but he is fine." Harry had seen someone dead. How much more could a boy go through? He had seen things that people of all ages shouldn't have to see. He should be protected and sheltered from these things.

"Poor Harry," I whispered to myself, looking down at my teacup. I looked up at Minerva. "Who was it? Who was killed, Minerva?" Minerva swallowed before sighing and sitting back in the seat.

"Barty Crouch." My mouth hung agape as I stared at Minerva in surprise. Barty Crouch had died at Hogwarts, right after the Second Task. Something was seriously wrong.

* * *

Father, Filius, Pormona, Poppy, Minerva and I stood outside of Dumbledore's office, waiting for the Headmaster to call us in. We were all curious to find out how it happened, and if Dumbledore knew who did it. I was concerned for the safety of the students, especially the visiting students. They wouldn't know what it was like to live in fear. Hogwarts was under attack from a Basilisk two years ago, so the students here would know what it was like when their safety was compromised. The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students did not.

"I still cannot believe it," Pormona said.

"Hogwarts, a once safe school...and now look at us," Minerva said, shaking her head. She was visibly upset.

"Is it true that the Minister for Magic is here?" Poppy asked. Minerva nodded, but didn't say a word. It seemed like she was pondering her thoughts.

"We have to stick together," I told them. "For the students. They need someone to look to in times like this."

"The students do not know yet, and they have no need to know," a voice said from behind us. We turned to see Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, looking down on each of us. What would he mean by they have no need to know? I would have thought the students would have every right to know. Wouldn't surprise me, though. Fudge has a tendency to hide things.

"Minister," Poppy said, bowing her head at him.

"Good evening," Fudge replied. The Minister walked down to join us and stood next to me.

"I do not believe we have met," he said to me. "Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic." He held out his hand for me to shake it. I was reluctant, but I thought it would be disrespectful if I ignored him.

"Professor Isabel Snape, Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," I replied. I let go of his hand and looked at him, unimpressed. He didn't exactly strike me as a natural leader. "Minister, I have a question. Why is there no need for the students to know that someone is dead here? The students safety could be compromised - "

"Professor, with all due respect, you do not have a say in any of this. You are just an assistant. The students safety will not be compromised. They are perfectly safe here at Hogwarts," Fudge said to me rudely. I shut my mouth and rolled my eyes. The assistant line had come out again. I was a member of staff...I shouldn't be treated like a student. Just as I was about to open my mouth to say something, the door to Dumbledore's office opened again, revealing Dumbledore.

"You are all welcome to come in now," Dumbledore said to us. I cleared my throat and gave one nod to the minister before walking into Dumbledore's office.

* * *

"How could this happen?" Poppy asked the Headmaster, her voice filled with urgency. I sat in the corner of the room, my arms folded, watching the other staff argue with each other.

"We need to cancel the tournament!" Minerva exclaimed.

"There is no need to go as far as that, Minerva," Dumbledore replied.

"Is that was Fudge said?" Pormona snapped. I looked up to my right to see my father standing there, his arms also folded.

"This arguing will do nothing," he said.

"What are we going to do? Just stand here and let them work it out?" I asked. Father nodded.

"Yes, we are. We have no need to get caught up in this." Yet, as if on cue, all the staff turned to face us.

"Professor's, what do you think about this?" Filius asked. I sighed and sat back in my chair, letting Father answer first.

"It is not my place to say," Father told the staff, "I do not know the full circumstances of this, so I cannot comment." Father always said the most logical things, I wondered if I was ever going to be that wise. I felt everyone's eyes shift to me, and I moved, nervously. I had to say the right thing, otherwise I'd lose respect from some of these staff members.

"I agree with what my father said. I cannot comment as I do now know the full circumstances, however, I do believe that the students safety is being compromised." The Headmaster nodded as he took in all that I said.

"You have a point, Professor," Dumbledore said to me. "But, I'm afraid I cannot cancel the tournament. The Ministry are the only ones with the power to do that, and the Minister for Magic has informed me that this will not be happening. I'm afraid that the tournament will indeed continue to run." We all looked at each other, shocked that Dumbledore was just going to accept this and move on. This wasn't Dumbledore-like at all.

* * *

I woke up the next day and decided I had to distract myself from this whole murder thing. It was best if I kept out of it for now. Who knows where the murderer would strike next? I left my office and walked up to the owlery to get my mail. When I reached the top of the stairs, Marieke sat there, a letter in her beak. I hoped it was from Mother. I really wanted to tell her I knew what Louis was doing to her. Instead, when I saw the handwriting on the front of the letter when taking it from her beak, I dropped it from my hand. This was one person I didn't want to speak to, one person I didn't want to hear from. I picked up the letter from Lucius Malfoy and opened it carefully.

_**Dear Isabel,**_

_**I know you ignored my last letter, which you sent months ago, but I had to send another one. I miss you, even though you most likely do not miss me. I must apologise again for the way I handled you. You are a fragile being, and I blame myself every day for what I did. I bought you gifts and I bribed you into sticking around. You even had feelings for me - and that makes me feel even more terrible. I regret kissing you and making you feel something for me. That was one of the worst things I have ever done. I continue to wonder if I actually did fall in love with you. I used to think it was just an act on my behalf, but then I wondered, maybe this was love. Maybe I did feel something for you.**_

_**You also now know the truth about me and where my allegiances lie. I urge you to consider your allegiances. You are no blood traitor, Isabel. You know better than that. If you wish to talk to me about this, I would be willing to accept you with open arms.**_

_**Narcissa wonders when you will be back for another dinner. Maybe in the future you will return to the Malfoy Manor for tea. I do hope that one day you will see fit to join us for dinner again. I miss those nights we spent talking about many things. **_

_**I do hope Draco is behaving. Draco thinks very highly of you. You need to know that.**_

_**Words are never going to be enough, I understand that, and you can choose to believe this apology or not. I just needed you to know how deeply sorry I am.**_

_**Lucius.**_

Somehow this letter got to me more than others. Firstly, he seemed sincere. Sincere about how sorry he was. But then, he had to bring up blood traitors. That was the thing about Lucius, he'd always say one thing and mean another. I decided to rip the letter up and throw it away. I didn't need his poison in my life. He was a horrible person. He actually enjoyed taking advantage of people's feelings.

"What was that?" Asked a voice from behind me. I jumped and turned around to see Draco, his eyebrows raised, looking at me as if I was a complete lunatic.

"Just a letter from someone that I didn't want to keep," I replied.

"Who's it from?" I would never tell Draco who that letter was from. It would ruin our friendship, I was sure of it. I knew that he wasn't a fan of his father, but Draco was still a Malfoy. He was not to be messed around with.

"I'd rather not tell you, Draco. You don't need to know the people that I'm keeping in contact with," I told him.

"Ooh, someone's mysterious," Draco laughed. "Just tell me, you're not making deals with anyone dangerous? We can't have our best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher going missing or anything like that."

"Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Draco," I replied.

"You're still better than Moody in my opinion." I smiled at Draco. Not many people got to see this side of him. The good side that wasn't afraid to show his emotions. I would think that the only other person to see this side of Draco was Narcissa. From this moment, I knew that I would do my best to keep Draco out of the position that Lucius is in, or that Lucius would be prepared to put him in. Draco's not lost to the world. Not just yet.

* * *

It was quiet down in the Dungeons that night. I could hear every door that opened and shut, and I could hear every footstep going past my office. I sipped my cup of tea while reading through yet another Pansy Parkinson essay. It was remarkable to see how stupid this girl could become. The thought crossed my mind that she wasn't actually this stupid, but she was just dumbing herself down for attention, but I was sure it was impossible to be this idiotic. I put down my cup of tea and sat back in my chair. This is what has become of my life now. I was marking essay's as a Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher, I had a somewhat strained relationship with everyone in my family, my best friend told me to forget him, I haven't seen my other best friends in months and to top it all off, I am dating a convicted murderer who turns out to be innocent but cannot leave his house otherwise he'll be sent back to Azkaban. It was a far cry from my Auror dreams of a few years ago.

"Merlin, Isabel, how did you end up here?" I groaned, my head falling in my hands.

"I tend to ask myself the same question," a voice said from the doorway. My head snapped up to see Father, walking into my office. I wasn't really in the mood for a whole lecture from him, which is what usually happens when he turns up here.

"I'm tired, Father," I told him. Father walked over to my desk and sat in the chair opposite me.

"I understand that you're tired, but I believe we need to talk," he said. I sighed, there was nothing I could do about it. I'd have to sit here and listen to another one of Father's rants. I prepared myself to zone out halfway through, that was what I usually do anyway.

"We haven't exactly talked a lot in the past few weeks," Father said. There was a valid reason for that - I was dating the bane of my Father's existence, and he didn't know. I guess I didn't want to cause myself anymore stress. It was selfish, but it's just how things had to go for the time being.

"How are you, Isabel?" Father asked.

"Excuse me?"

"How are you?" This question took me by surprise. Father never asked how I was. He never asked how anyone was. I thought of all the replies I could give my father. Some rude, some extremely nice, and some extremely short. I guess I wouldn't say anything rude. Father was being nice, after all.

"I'm okay," I replied. "This tournament, the Yule Ball and Moody have shook me up a little, but I'm handling it."

"Are you handling it? If Professor Moody is giving you a rough - "

"Dad, please. It's nothing I can't handle."

"Isabel, this is where we have our biggest problem with you. You say you can handle all of this, but you can't You are young, and this will end up consuming you if you don't get some help with this." I sat there, staring at my father, seemingly frozen. Everything he said was true, but I didn't want to show that I was wrong. I was too proud.

"You have been acting very strange lately, Isabel. Your mood changes have been quite visible. Minerva has come to me about it more than once. She is worried about you." That was true, too. I've been happy, and then sad, then worried and Merlin knows what other moods I've been in, but I didn't think that it would be noticeable to others.

"I'm sorry if I'm causing anyone any trouble," I said. Father sighed and shook his head.

"You do not understand. People are worried for you. You are not causing us trouble, you are causing yourself trouble. Tell me, Isabel, and be honest. Are all these mood changes to do with Lupin?" That hit me like a train. I had been doing my best not to think about him, but at some point, someone was going to bring him up.

"Of course not," I replied.

"Do not lie to me, Isabel."

"I'm not lying! I don't wish to think or speak about Remus Lupin because he hurt me."

"He hurt you? Why did you not tell me this? That filthy dog will regret ever crossing paths with my daughter. Just wait until - "

"Father, no, please. I don't want you to do anything to Remus. I don't want you to even talk to Remus," I said quietly. I clasped my hands together and looked down at my feet, remembering the way Remus left me in the middle of the forest, apparating away after telling me to forget him. I was a very forgiving person, but I don't think I'd forgive him easily if he turned up, telling me he was sorry.

"You are a Snape, Isabel. You will take this hurt from no one," Father said to me. He was right, I was a Snape, and I should be standing up and looking out for myself. However, I was weaker than my father. He was strong, not only physically but in the mind, too. I was broken, and I had been hurt. It was funny, really, because my greatest weakness turned out to be my greatest strength. Love.

"We're in this together, right?" I said.

"We will always be in this together, Isabel."

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up, I've just been having massive writer's block, so this chapter was really a filler. There are some great chapters ahead, though. Someone will be returning, someone that I'd say most of you are looking forward to having back.**

**I would really like 15 reviews for this chapter guys, I know you can do it!**

**Next Chapter - Sirius and Isabel have a serious talk. She gets a letter from Andromeda, who is worried about a certain someone...and Dobby's back!**


	48. In My Place

**Thanks to: HPFan, ddh, annie, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, alexis, Tessa, kia, SexyDumbledoreTime (really?), LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, UltimateLHOTPFAN & Cassia4u for your reviews.**

**Also, thanks to those who subscribed to the story & the one user who made me their favourite author. It is very much appreciated.**

_**Songs for this chapter:**_

_**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]**_

_**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Profile]**_

'_**The Violet Hour' by Sea Wolf**_

'_**In My Place' by Coldplay**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

It was no doubt that letter from Lucius had shaken me up. I felt a little more fragile today than I did yesterday. I couldn't let him get to me, though. I have to move on with my life. I would not be frightened into hiding away. Not again. I walked through the halls of Hogwarts to hear the laughter of first years. I smiled to myself, remembering what it was like to be that age. I used to sit in the Viaduct Courtyard, with Tonks, Bill and Charlie, and we would have so much fun.

"What are you dreaming about?" Someone asked me. I looked up to see Fleur, grinning at me, Gabrielle at her side.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked.

"We thought we'd go for a walk. Enjoy the sun while eet eez out," Fleur told me. "Can we join you?"

"Of course." We began to walk through the halls, blocking out the stares from everyone else. Some people still hadn't registered the fact that we were sisters.

"How have you both been?" I asked.

"Good! Dobby and I have been doing a lot together! He eez very fun to play with," Gabrielle said. I smiled at her, happy that she wasn't discriminating Dobby because he was a house elf. It just goes to show that Mother really did raise her, not Louis, her father. I looked from Gabrielle to Fleur. Fleur seemed deep in thought. I didn't want to bother her, but she seemed troubled about something.

"Is something bothering you, Fleur?" I asked. Fleur ignored me, and continued to look ahead of her.

"She's worried about the third task," Gabrielle said.

"Ah, I see," I replied, nodding. If I was in the same position as Fleur, I would be worried, too.

"Fleur," I said. This time, I wasn't ignored. Fleur turned to me, attentive.

"Yes?"

"You're worried, about the third task."

"I would be a liar eef I said I wasn't," Fleur told me.

"I just want you to remember that you are the one who controls this. You are the one who controls what you do in the third task. Don't get intimidated by the fact that there are three males in the competition up against you. I promise you, Fleur, that you will be alright. You just need to focus on your goal, and focus on what you want to achieve in this tournament." Fleur nodded at me. I knew she was still hesitant, but she'd be okay. It was Fleur

* * *

I stood outside the DADA room, waiting for Moody. I heard footsteps coming around the corner, but they couldn't have been Moody's. They were too fast. All of a sudden, Fred and George ran around the corner and stopped right in front of me.

"We aren't late, are we?" George said. I shook my head and they let out a sigh of relief. Fred leaned against the wall next to me and winked. I couldn't help but giggle. George nudged Fred and said something that I couldn't hear.

"What are you two whispering about?" I asked, a smirk on my face. Fred and George both turned to face me, and George grinned before nudging Fred again.

"Nothing," Fred said.

"Is it nothing, Freddie?" George said to him, raising his eyebrows. Now they were making me extra suspicious of them. Fred and George always had a way of twisting their words - especially around me.

"George," Fred said. "Please stop."

"Does Freddie have something to tell a certain someone?"

"Go away, George. Please." George put up his hands in surrender, his smile still lighting up his face. He was highly amused.

"Professor," George said. He gave me a nod before walking into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, leaving Fred and I to ourselves.

"What was that, Fred?" I asked in a stern voice. Fred cracked up laughing and shook his head.

"Your Professor voice doesn't work on me, I'm afraid."

"You two are stressing me out greatly, you know that?"

"We stress everyone out if you haven't noticed. Anyway, I wasn't here to annoy you, like usual," Fred said. He had a serious expression on his face, which was a rarity for him. "I was going to ask you, have you heard anything from Percy?" I knew that this topic was going to come up eventually.

"To be honest, Fred, all I want to do is forget about the Yule Ball. It was a night that didn't go to plan for me, and for many others. From my point of view, it was a disaster. I got pulled around like a piece of meat, and was humiliated by Percy." Fred nodded, but something changed in his eyes. I had set off something in him, and he was obviously upset, but trying to hide it.

"Fred, are you alright?" I asked. Fred pursed his lips, nodded, then flashed a smile. He didn't fool me, though. I knew he was still upset.

"I better go in before Moody comes along and yells at both of us for doing whatever he thinks we're doing wrong," Fred said to me. He let out a small laugh, turned around and walked into the classroom. I had made Fred upset, and now I couldn't concentrate properly.

* * *

I sat behind my desk, marking papers, listening to Moody ramble on as usual. This guy wasn't only insane and intimidating, he liked to teach things in such fine detail, that once he started it was hard to stop. I glanced up at Fred and George, who were whispering to each other. George caught me looking at them, and winked at me. I laughed to myself quietly, so Moody couldn't hear me. I went back to marking my papers, when I heard Moody throw something at the back wall. I looked up quickly to see Fred and George creep up slowly. Mad-Eye had thrown something at them.

"You two, up," he demanded. Fred and George stood up, both fighting back a smile.

"Would you like to tell me and the rest of your classmates what you were talking about?" Moody asked.

"No, Sir. We'd prefer to keep it a secret, actually," George replied. I covered my mouth with my hand to stop me laughing out loud. Moody slammed his fist on the table, making everyone in the classroom jump. I stood up and walked over to the scene quickly.

"You will tell me what you are talking about, or you'll both be spending detention with me for the next - "

"Sir, we were simply commenting on how striking Professor Snape looks today," Fred said, turning to me and flashing a smile. I laughed a little bit, then froze, realising Moody had heard me. He turned to me and raised his eyebrows at me.

"You find this funny?" He asked.

"I don't think we should be making a big deal about this. They were just commenting on something..."

"Something inappropriate. They should not be making comments on what you look like, Professor," Moody said to me, venom in his voice.

"Just continue with the lesson, _Alastor_. I'm sure we can talk about this after class," I said. Moody let out a grunt before turning his back to the twins and I. George mouthed a thank you to me before I returned to my own seat.

* * *

Fred and George stood in front of Professor Moody's desk, as I stood to the side and watched them being interrogated by their Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. Moody had a look in his face - one of pure loathing. It still stumped me to this day how someone like Dumbledore could be friends with someone such as him.

"So, Mr. Weasley, what were your exact words to your brother?" Moody asked. The twins were obviously amused.

"I said 'how striking does Professor Snape look today' to George. I don't think that it's that big of a deal, Sir," Fred said to Moody. Moody sighed and waved his hands.

"Both of you, go. I've had enough of your antics for one day." Fred and George looked at each other, then looked at me, then left the classroom.

"How do you not think that's inappropriate?" Moody asked me. I shrugged and put my hands on my hips.

"I guess I know them personally and am quite close to them and the rest of their family. I don't believe that they had any other intention except having a bit of fun."

"You're very unusual, Isabel," Professor Moody said. I raised my eyebrows at his use of my first name. It was the first time I had heard it come from his mouth.

"How so?"

"Your father is Severus Snape, and your mother is a half Veela from France. You're two sisters have blonde hair, when yours is as black as night. You're friends with Potter, yet you're close with Draco Malfoy, too. If you didn't have black hair, people would assume you are a Weasley from the amount of time you spend with them, and you're friends with a house elf. To top it off, you are the Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and you've barely left Hogwarts."

"It was 2 years ago," I said.

"Regardless, you are unusual for a witch your age." I gave one nod and picked up my books from my desk.

"Why are you so different?" Professor Moody asked.

"I don't mean to be different. I just guess when you've been brought up the way I have, you see things differently. You crave some things more than others," I replied. "Why are you being calm with me? Usually you're going off your head at me."

"I understand you now, and that is why I feel no need to yell at you," Moody said. I kept eye contact with Moody for a few seconds, to see if he was genuine about this. I then turned away, held my teaching books close to my chest and began to walk out of the classroom.

"Professor, wait a moment," Moody called out. I stopped and spun around to look at him again. "What is it? What is it that you crave more than everything else?" I sighed and gazed at the floor, pondering my answer.

"Love, Sir."

"Excuse me?" He said, sounding taken aback by my answer. He probably would have thought it to be power or something.

"Love. I want to be loved more than anything else in the world." With that, I quickly left the classroom, not wanting to chat anymore.

* * *

I was so thankful once the weekend had arrived. I could go and see Sirius again! I was glad that Dumbledore had continued to let me see him, especially since I had to travel in and out of Hogwarts all the time just to see his face. I picked my wand up from my bedside table and walked over to the fireplace in my private quarters. I threw the floo powder in, closed my eyes and breathed in deeply.

"12 Grimmauld Place."

* * *

"Isabel Snape," a voice said as soon as I arrived at Grimmauld Place. I smiled as I threw myself into the waiting arms of Sirius Black. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck. This is the place I felt most happy, in the arms of Sirius. He was so warm and gentle. It was as if all my worries would just fade away when I was with him. My hand moved to his cheek as my lips went to his. I now knew that this was the place I felt at home.

* * *

Sirius and I sat on the ratty, old couch in the living room. He had obviously been trying his hardest to get this place as clean as he possibly could. I was proud of him for putting in some effort. He probably didn't have much else to do, though, seeing as he couldn't go outside. Sirius put his arm around me and I snuggled up to his chest.

"Sirius?" I asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"How do you see us? I mean, in the future?" I desperately needed to ask this question - as I was unsure how he saw our relationship. Was I just a play thing for him? A distraction? Sirius went silent, and that was a bad sign. I was attempting to brace myself for what was coming next. What was he going to do? Tell me that he was just using me for fun? Now I was worried. What if he saw me as a little girl who had a crush on him? And he was only doing this because he pitied me and nothing else?

"I don't know, Isabel," Sirius said. I sat up and ran my hand through my hair. He didn't want a future with me. It was clear now. All this time we've spent together and it's been for nothing. My head fell into my hands and I began to feel sick. After all this time...it was just one sided. I felt Sirius' hand on my arm, and I sat back in the chair to look at him.

"Isabel, please, don't take it that way," Sirius said to me. What was he going to say now? That this was all just a joke? I was so confused by this whole situation. "I mean, I haven't thought about it, not that I didn't want to spend it with you." I wiped a tear that fell down my cheek and a smile appeared on my face. What I thought was about to turn into a nightmare just went completely the other way.

"So, you aren't...you want me around?" Sirius laughed and kissed my forehead.

"I do worry about you, sometimes. Really. Of course I want you around! You're the only thing that brightens up my day, and you are the only thing my life has going for it at the moment. Without you, I'd be nothing and I would have nothing."

"Don't say that, Sirius," I said.

"It's true, Isabel. I'm not allowed out of this house. I'm running from the Ministry because I was wrongly accused of killing people."

"You'll always be something to me," I whispered, leaning up and kissing Sirius softly. I pulled back and smiled before resting my head on his chest. He needed to know he wasn't worthless.

* * *

I had arrived back from seeing Sirius, and walked right into my office. Straight away, I found a letter sitting on my desk. I was becoming sick of receiving letters. Usually they were from people I didn't want to hear from. I sat down in my desk and opened the letter.

_**My dearest Isabel,**_

_**I'm writing to you today because I am quite concerned with the behaviour of Nymphadora.**_

_**She has been acting a little strange for months. Not that Dora isn't strange (good strange), but she's been ignoring Ted and I. That really isn't like Dora. I wonder if you could somehow get in contact with her to tell me if she's alright, or what is wrong with her. I am just very worried because this isn't Dora. The only times she's happy is if we aren't around. Sorry to dump all this on you, dear. Especially when you have so many things on your plate. Ted says hi, and gives you his love.**_

_**All my love,**_

_**Andromeda.**_

I had a fair idea of what this was about already. Tonks was a very jealous person, and when it came to jealousy, she would hold grudges. Ever since I went to stay with the Tonks family, she had been acting like this. I began to believe that this was all my fault - Tonks thought that her parents loved me more than her. I took out a piece of parchment and my ink. This needed to be solved right away.

_**Andromeda,**_

_**I think I do know what is going on. I believe that she is jealous of my relationship with both you and Ted. She thinks that I am a threat and that you care for me a lot more than you care for her. I suggest you resolve this as soon as possible. You know what Tonks can be like - she can hold grudges and she does not forgive easily. Give all my love to Ted, too. I miss you all so much.**_

_**All my love,**_

_**Isabel.**_

As I finished writing my letter, there was a loud thud from behind me. I jumped, and my quill went flying out of my hand and onto the floor. I stood up quickly and took out my wand. Sure, I might be paranoid, but I was not going to take any risks. I walked to the cupboard behind my desk. I reached out for the door handle and opened the door to the cupboard quickly. To my complete surprise, sitting in there, with a woolen hat on, was Dobby.

"MISS ISABEL!" Dobby exclaimed. He jumped out of the cupboard and grinned up at me.

"Dobby, what were you doing in my cupboard?" I asked.

"Dobby was waiting for you of course! Dobby saw that Miss Isabel had mail in the owlery, so Dobby thought he would bring it down here. But when Dobby saw that Miss wasn't here, Dobby decided to wait. Dobby got very tired, so Dobby went to sleep in the cupboard. When Dobby heard that Miss Isabel was back, Dobby tried to get out but he couldn't because the door was locked, so Dobby made a loud noise to try and get Miss Isabel's attention."

"I see," I said. "Would you like to sit, Dobby? Maybe for some tea?

"Dobby does not like tea at the moment, but Dobby will sit because he wants to spend some time with his friend, Miss Isabel." I smiled at Dobby and how warm he was. He had such a pure heart, and it was saddening to think he used to get treated like dirt.

* * *

"Dobby has been having a wonderful time with Miss Gabrielle. Miss Gabrielle and Dobby went for a walk around the grounds yesterday."

"I'm glad you've made a friend, Dobby. And Gabrielle needs friends around here." Dobby's face then turned sad, and he looked down.

"What is it, Dobby?" I asked.

"Dobby is having such a good time with Miss Gabrielle, but she has to go soon. Dobby wishes Miss Gabrielle could always stay at Hogwarts with him." I felt my heart break at those words. I didn't know Dobby had such a strong bond with my little sister - maybe as strong as he did with Harry.

"I'm afraid you are correct, Dobby," I said. "Gabrielle does indeed have to go back to France. However, you still have many friends that will remain here at Hogwarts. You have Harry, Hermione, Ron, and you have me. It won't be the last you see of Gabrielle, anyway. I'm sure after she leaves, she will come back and see you."

"Will Dobby really still have friends after Miss Gabrielle is gone?" Dobby asked. I nodded and smiled at the house elf.

"I promise you, Dobby, that you will always have friends after Gabrielle is gone."

"Thank you, Miss Isabel. Dobby just wants a friend."

* * *

**A/N: Hello all! I'm so sorry for the late update.**

**Guys, on a serious note here, I want to clear something up. Isabel is NOT her father. Just because she has the last name Snape, does not mean she is going to act like him, speak like him etc. She is her own person, has her own traits and speaks her own mind. Just because they share the same name does not mean they have to be exactly alike. I just want you to keep this in mind while reading this story.**

**I HAVE A CHALLENGE FOR YOU ALL:**

**I have a little surprise for you all to keep you motivated on reading this story. Chapter 53 is a MASSIVE chapter. I will give you a set of numbers, and I won't be telling you what it is. You'll have to work it out for yourselves, but the numbers are a code for something to do with Chapter 53. Here's you code:**

**73687**

**Next Chapter Sneak Peek - **

We turned around to see Harry had returned. I smiled and began clapping, but Harry looked like he was struggling, or hurt. I looked closer at Harry and realised there was a body underneath him. My face turned from a smile to a frown, and Fleur screamed. I walked towards Dumbledore, who was kneeling next to Harry. I glanced down to see the body of Cedric Diggory. I gasped and put my hand over my mouth. Cedric was dead.


	49. The Third Task Tragedy

**Thanks to: MissMysticFalls11 (glad to see you're liking my story!), getinmypantscedric (serious?), Xterker23, anon (thanks for your review, anon!), Tessa & HPFan.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
__The Sister's Theme [See Profile]  
__Death of Cedric - Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire Soundtrack  
__Heavy In Your Arms - Florence + The Machine_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The day of the Third Task was upon us. Everyone in Hogwarts was anticipating the final bout in Tri Wizard Tournament. I, however, was not looking forward to it at all. For me, it was just another day of worrying about Fleur and Harry. It wasn't my fault that I became worried as easy as I do - it's just that I had learned these were the things that mattered. I never had protective parents, and when I was a child, I looked out for Fleur in our controlling household. I never had that protective love - I wasn't going to let others miss out on it. I sighed and brushed my hair while looking in the mirror. My eyes told the whole story. Today was going to be a struggle, in more ways than one. I could just tell.

* * *

We had all arrived at the maze, and we awaited the champions to enter. I breathed in deeply, trying to keep as calm as I could. After all, I had to be strong for Fleur. She would be feeing worse than me.

"Isabel," someone said from behind me. I spun around to see Molly Weasley walking up to me. She put her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

"Good to see you, dear."

"You too, Molly. How've you been?"

"Oh, getting along. As usual. I've been quite lonely at the house because everyone's out. Ah, I nearly forgot! Someone else would like to say hello to you," Molly said. She stepped sideways to reveal Bill, who was behind her.

"Bill!" I exclaimed, running over to him and flinging myself in his arms.

"What a welcome," Bill laughed.

"I've missed you, Bill."

"I've missed you too," he said. "Your sister is competing, isn't she? For Beauxbatons?" I sighed and nodded.

"What's wrong?" Bill asked.

"I'm just worried about Fleur. It's no different then usual, though, is it? This is normal for me..."

"Being worried about Fleur doesn't make you weak, Isabel. You are allowed to be anxious about the well being of your sister."

"You're right. I'm being stupid."

"You're not being stupid. You're being plain old Isabel." Bill grinned and I couldn't help but laugh at him.

* * *

There was a cheer, and Fleur appeared at the entrance area. I stood there, watching her face go pale. Gabrielle walked out behind her and she ran to me.

"How is Fleur?" I asked Gabrielle quietly.

"She eez nervous," Gabrielle replied. I nodded, knowing that she would be freaking out. I didn't care if Fleur came first or last today, all I wanted is for her to be safe. I walked over to my younger sister, and Gabrielle tagged along behind me. Maxime was standing behind her, but this was no place to make a scene. Fleur turned to me and put her arms around me quickly.

"Good luck, Fleur," I said. "Be safe." Fleur let go and nodded.

"I will." I took in a deep breathe and turned around. I would just have to let her go. She was seventeen now. She was of age. Fleur was highly talented...she'd be just fine. I turned to see Harry standing next to Professor Moody. He was obviously frightened by what was ahead of him. Some people saw Harry as fearless. This was a complete lie - he wasn't fearless. He was just brave. I walked over to Harry to wish him good luck. He seemed unsure of what he had to do, but he also seemed ready. I knew Harry could do this. He was strong and brave. I placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"You'll be fine," I said to him. I could see Moody staring at us from the corner my eye. I just brushed it off. I didn't care how he saw my relationship with Harry.

"Yeah," Harry replied, nodding once. I patted his shoulder twice before walking away from him. I was right. Harry would be just fine. I backed away from Harry and went to go sit in the teachers stand, but was stopped by someone who grabbed my arm. I looked up, and there was Moody, glaring at me. I really thought we had passed this stage.

"What were you doing with Harry?" He snapped.

"I was wishing him good luck. You really are paranoid." I attempted to walk off, but he stopped me again.

"You cannot ruin this..."

"What on earth are you talking about?" What was Moody talking about? Ruining what? I brushed it off, and sat in the teachers stand between Gabrielle and Father. I was in for a very nervous wait.

* * *

The last of the champions walked into the maze, and it closed up for good. Now all we had to do was wait. I sat there, next to my father, twiddling my thumbs, nervously. Gabrielle sat on the other side of me, and she had her head on my arm. I felt so sorry for her. How did she feel about Fleur in danger? Fleur was literally all she had back in France.

"Do you think Fleur will be alright?" Gabrielle asked me.

"Fleur is very brave, Gabrielle. She will be fine." I smiled down at my youngest sister to reassure her. Gabrielle dug her head into my arm.

"I hope you're right, Isabel."

* * *

Time was passing us by, and all you could hear was the chatter of the students, betting on who would come first. I tried to block it out, as I wasn't impressed about some of the comments being made about my sister. Suddenly, we heard a loud scream, coming from a girl. I stood up quickly and ran to the front of the maze. That scream came from Fleur. I knew the sound of my sisters voice.

"Dumbledore! Dumbledore, please!" I said, walking over to the Headmaster, pulling him up. "I need you to help my sister!"

"Isabel, my dear, I will...I promise." Dumbledore patted my arm, before Minerva came over and held me in her arms.

"Come along, dear, you must sit with your sister. I am sure she'd be as anxious as you are," Minerva told me. I nodded, as she was right. Gabrielle would be, if not more anxious than me. I walked back up to the stand and sat down next to Gabrielle, who instantly reached for my hand. I took her hand and squeezed it, trying to reassure her.

"Dumbledore will find her, Gabrielle. That is a promise."

* * *

Gabrielle and I sat in the stand, anxiously waiting Dumbledore to return. There was a loud crack, and Dumbledore appeared, a girl dressed in a blue tracksuit, with messy blonde hair and dirt all over her face holding onto him. I stood up and ran down to catch Fleur in my arms as she let go of Dumbledore. She had been beaten, and this was not the Fleur I knew.

"Fleur...what happened? Are you okay?"

"I don't really remember, Isabel," Fleur cried onto my arm. "Eet was horrible een there. I never want to go back een there, ever again."

"I promise you'll never have to go back in there again," I said to her. I helped Fleur over to the Beauxbatons area, where she was greeted by friends and Madame Maxime. Maxime nodded down at me in appreciation. I nodded back at her, showing my thanks at how much she cared for Fleur. Fleur sat down and rested her head on one of her friends.

"Fleur! Fleur!" Gabrielle pushed through the crowd and jumped into the waiting arms of Fleur.

"Fleur, are you alright? Are you hurt?" Gabrielle asked.

"I am okay, Gabrielle. I am sorry I couldn't win for you." Gabrielle hugged Fleur tightly.

"I didn't need you to win for me. I am proud of you anyway." Gabrielle and Fleur looked up at me, then held their arms out. I smiled, knelt down and put my arms around the both of them. She was safe, and that's what mattered right now.

* * *

The rest of the waiting game had begun. Fleur had her head on my shoulder, and she was shivering. I felt so bad for my younger sister. What she must have endured in that maze...no seventeen year old should have to go through something like that. I glanced over at Gabrielle, who was holding Fleur's hand. I imagined this was hard on her, too - seeing her sister like this. Gabrielle really was the real victim when it came to all of this.

* * *

Fleur was now in the arms of her friends, as I had to join Minerva and Father. We were all pacing around, waiting for some bit of news. It grew darker and darker, and the thought crossed my mind that we could be here well into the night. All of a sudden, red sparks appeared in the sky. Father and I looked at each other, both wondering who could be the person who will be returning from the maze. Seconds later, Dumbledore had disappeared into the maze, and we awaited the return of whoever ran into trouble in the maze.

Viktor Krum had returned from the maze, and this meant only one thing. It was Harry and Cedric left. I turned to Minerva, who seemed just as surprised as I was. Harry, the fourteen year old who was never supposed to be in the tournament in the first place, was facing off with Cedric, to win the tournament.

"Minerva..."

"I know what you're going to say, Isabel. Harry has done well, and this will be a big achievement for him, but he will be protected. I promise."

"People need to stop promising things tonight," I told Minerva. "Especially when they may not be able to keep them."

* * *

Father, Minerva and I stood there talking, when suddenly people began to cheer. We turned around to see Harry had returned. I smiled and began clapping, but Harry looked like he was struggling, or hurt. I looked closer at Harry and realised there was a body underneath him. My face turned from a smile to a frown, and Fleur screamed. I walked towards Dumbledore, who was kneeling next to Harry. I glanced down to see the body of Cedric Diggory. I screamed and put my hand over my mouth. Cries of horror begun to fill the stands as everyone realised what was happening. Cedric was dead.

"He's back!" Harry cried. What did Harry mean by that? Who was back?

"Voldemort's back!" I froze on the spot. Harry did not just say what I think he said. He can't have. He Who Must Not Be Named...You Know Who...Voldemort...he had returned, and he had killed Cedric Diggory. My head was spinning. This was the biggest shock that I had ever received. I became instantly terrified. How could someone not be terrified of the unknown? All that I had heard about Voldemort was enough to scare me, but having to deal with him in the flesh...it was becoming a real prospect. I breathed in deeply and pondered my thoughts. Everything was going to change now, absolutely everything. I looked at my Father, who appeared to be calm. I guess he was calm because he had survived the first war.

"Are you alright, dear?" Minerva said, patting my shoulder. I nodded, but didn't take my eyes off Harry, lying over the corpse of Cedric.

"Just a shock to the system," I replied. A shock was a bit of an understatement.

"LET ME THROUGH! OUT OF MY WAY!" I heard a voice shout out. I turned around slightly to see a man rushing towards the body of Cedric. It was Cedric Diggory's father. Behind him was a woman, whose eyes were shedding tears and her hands were covering her mouth. Cedric's mother.

"THAT'S MY SON!" Cedric's father called out. He had reached the body of his son, and his eyes told the whole story. He had lost the single most precious thing in his life. It was heart wrenching. "THAT'S MY BOY!" He let out a loud cry. Bill moved down to stand next to me and put his hand on my shoulder. He didn't say anything. It was just silence as we watched Cedric Diggory's parents react to his death. I moved my hand to Bill's hand, which was sitting on my shoulder. He took it and squeezed it tightly. A tear fell down my cheek as I heard the cries coming from people in the crowd.

* * *

Just as the cries died down, Dumbledore waved Father, Minerva and I over. I turned to Bill, who nodded. Bill, who was just like my brothers, understood that I was needed.

"Severus, Minerva, Isabel - come. Now," Dumbledore said, his voice booming over the whispers of the crowd. I wondered why he didn't call Moody's name, but realised he was nowhere to be seen. It was unusual, as Moody would usually be the first on the case. I walked quickly to where Dumbledore was standing and waited for Father and Minerva to join us. Dumbledore stared at the three of us, and I instantly knew that this was going to be serious.

"What's going on, Headmaster?" I asked.

"We need to go to Professor Moody's office. Immediately."

"Why?" Minerva asked.

"I believe we have an impostor."

* * *

We rushed to Professor Moody's office, and Dumbledore blasted the door open. He then pointed his wand at Moody, whose wand was pointing at Harry. Dumbledore blasted Moody back in the chair. I walked over to Harry and stood in front of him, as if I were a shield. Dumbledore kept his wand pointed at Moody, who I knew now to be an impostor.

"Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and Winky the house elf," Dumbledore said to my father. Father nodded then left the room. "Minerva, go find the black dog in Hagrid's pumpkin patch and place the dog in my office. Isabel, you are to stay here with Harry." Minerva turned and left the room quickly as I didn't move an inch from my spot in front of Harry.

"Isabel, Harry, move back." Harry and I moved away at Dumbledore's orders to see a large trunk sitting behind us. Dumbledore then waved his wand at the trunk, and the seven lock trunk opened. When it had finished, Harry, Dumbledore and I looked down into the trunk.

"Alastor?" Dumbledore called. I then pointed down at the figure in the left corner of the trunk. The real Alastor Moody. I reached over to the impostor and snatched the hip flask from him. I opened it and smelled it. I rolled my eyes - could it be any more obvious. I passed it to Dumbledore and he nodded at me.

"What is it?" Harry asked me.

"Polyjuice Potion," I replied.

"You see the simplicity of it, and the brilliance. For Moody never does dring except from his hip flask, he's well known for it. The impostor needed, of course, to keep the real Moody close by, so that he could continue making the potion," Dumbledore said to both of us. Suddenly, the impostor's face started to contort, and we knew that he was changing back to his natural state; his true form. Not long after, I was staring at a man. A pale-skinned, fair haired and slightly freckled man.

"Barty Crouch Jr," Dumbledore said. Father and Minerva had arrived back into the office, just in time to see the impostor.

* * *

Harry, Dumbledore, Father, Minerva, Winky and I stared at Crouch, then stared at each other, wondering who would make the first move. Father then passed the flask of Veritaserum to Dumbledore, who then administered it to Crouch before waking him up.

"Barty Crouch Jr," Dumbledore said. Crouch smirked up at Dumbledore.

"Bet you didn't guess it was me, did you, Dumbledore..." he snapped.

"How did you get out of Azkaban?" Dumbledore asked, his tone strong.

"My...my mother and father...Mother was terminally ill. She wanted me out of Azkaban as her last wish. They used Polyjuice Potion to switch me and her around. I had to stay at my father's home under an Invisibility Cloak, under the Imperius Curse. A witch in my father's office. Bertha Jorkins. She came to the house with papers for my father's signature. He was not at home. Winky showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard Winky talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. She ended up confronting my father about all of this. Stupid woman. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently."

"Was it you at the Quidditch World Cup?"

"Winky convinced my father to let me go. I loved Quidditch as a boy." I turned to Winky, who seemed frightened by this whole situation. I felt sorry for her. All she did was place her trust in the wrong people. I listened as Dumbledore questioned Crouch Jr. We learned that Winky persuaded Bartemius Crouch Sr. to allow Barty to attend the Quidditch World Cup, hidden under an Invisibility Cloak. Yet, he stole a wand and cast the Dark Mark. Crouch Sr then fired Winky and recaptured Barty, returning him to the Crouch home and restraining him more forcefully. Bertha Jorkins, earlier, had run into Wormtail while vacationing, and was forcibly brought to Voldemort. Voldemort unlocked the memory charm and discovered that Barty Jr. was captive in his father's home. He also learned about the Tri Wizard Tournament He devised the plot to kill Harry. After murdering Bertha Jonkins, Wormtail and Voldemort went to London. They freed Barty Jr. and placed Crouch Sr under an Imperius spell, forcing him to continue working as normal. Barty Jr. and Wormtail then captured the real Moody and placed him under the Imperius spell; Barty Jr. used Polyjuice Potion to assume Moody's identity, while Moody was kept alive to supply his hair for more potion, and to provide Barty with information. Barty procured potion ingredients from Snape's office, claiming he, as Moody, was under orders to search it. When Voldemort judged it was no longer safe to allow people to see Barty Crouch Sr, he imprisoned Crouch Sr. in his own home. The Ministry thought Crouch Sr. was home sick and sending instructions by owl post to his assistant, Percy Weasley. But Wormtail 'neglected his duty.' When Crouch Sr. was able to break Wormtail's Imperius spell and escape to Hogwarts to warn Dumbledore, Barty Jr. tracked his father using Harry's Marauder's Map, murdered him, and hid the body. It was all so confusing, and so disturbing. The things that Crouch Jr. did, and to his own family. It was disgusting.

"And the Tri Wizard Cup...I placed a portkey on it to the graveyard. I transported Potter to the Dark Lord! The Dark Lord will honor me above everyone else!" I had to admit it was frightening being in a room with a Death Eater, but it wasn't the first time, either.

"Minerva, call Azkaban. I believe they have a prisoner missing," Dumbledore said.

"I'll be welcomed back like a hero!" Crouch shouted.

"Maybe, however, I've never had any time for heroes," Dumbledore said, escorting Harry from the room, Minerva following. Father and I turned to face Crouch Jr, and stuck our wands either side of his face. Crouch glared at Father, then glared at me. I stuck my wand in harder until he winced. I had been given a responsibility to keep him here. I would see to that responsibility.

* * *

**A/N: Hi all. If you got a heap of emails saying this story had been updated, this is because I re-wrote some of my chapters, and took off my authors note.**

**300 Reviews! Woohoo! Keep it up guys!**

**I also got a message from someone asking if Isabel shared the Veela characteristic of turning into the creatures that look like birds. My answer is no, she does not. She is only one quarter Veela, and not a full one. **

**One more thing guys, sorry if this chapter is not incredibly accurate. I cleaned out my room the other day and have no idea where my copy of the Goblet of Fire has gone.**

**Next ****Chapter ****-  
**Cedric Diggory's memorial and Isabel says goodbye to her sisters.


	50. Protection

**Thanks to: _Elfsquite90, LaFlorine, Tessa, Blitz-gurl-42, MissMysticFalls11, alexis, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, youknowwhonot the voldy one, harryhermionetentluv (that review was hilarious) & ThoughtVortex for your reviews._**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**The Sister's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Hogwarts' Hymn - Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire Soundtrack  
**__**Play - Flunk  
**_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Minerva had taken care of Barty Crouch Jr, so I stood outside of Dumbledore's office, waiting for my next instruction. Father had taken the real Alastor Moody to the hospital wing to be attended to. I leaned against the wall and ran my hand through my hair. I was a little stressed about the events of the past few hours. Suddenly, Dumbledore's office door swung open, and Dumbledore stepped out slowly.

"Isabel, there is someone in here that would like to see you. But hurry, you haven't got much time," he said. I wondered who Dumbledore was talking about. There were so many possibilities. I slowly walked into Dumbledore's office to see Sirius standing there, his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face. My face lit up as I ran over to him and threw myself into his arms.

"Sirius!" I exclaimed before kissing him softly. It felt a little awkward knowing Dumbledore was watching us, but I just needed Sirius at the moment. Sirius broke the kiss and then pulled me into a hug.

"Are you alright?" He asked. I nodded into his chest.

"I'm okay. A little unsettled, but alright." I closed my eyes as I kept my head on his chest. I didn't want to move. This was the only place I felt comfortable at the moment, in the arms of Sirius.

"Everything will be fine, Isabel, I promise you," Sirius said to me. I nodded on his chest while listening to his heartbeat. It was so soft; so pure.

"Isabel, Sirius, I do not wish to break up this warm moment, except Harry is on his way and it would be quite a shock to the system for him if he were to see you together like this," Dumbledore said, snapping Sirius and I out of our little moment. Dumbledore was right. Harry didn't need another shock. Not now, at least.

"I say we just tell him," Sirius said to me. I shook my head instantly.

"No, Sirius. Later. Not now."

"Fine, fine," he said, stepping back from me so we had some distance between us. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I moved across to the other side of the room as Dumbledore opened the door. A pale Harry then walked in. His eyes were fixed to the floor, and he seemed as if he hadn't slept properly.

"Harry?" Sirius said. Harry's head snapped up, and his eyes met Sirius'. It looked like there was a twinkle in his eye as he saw his Godfather, half smiling at him. Harry walked over to Sirius and hugged him tightly. Sirius was the only family Harry had left, and it was heart warming to see the bond that they had between them. Harry's eyes were then suddenly glued to me.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore just needed some information, that's all," I replied calmly. Harry seemed to brush it off and turned his attention back to Dumbledore and Sirius.

"You won't be needed anymore, Isabel, thank you," Dumbledore said. I nodded, glanced at Sirius, then turned around and left the Headmaster's office. While walking away, I couldn't help but think that I just wanted mine and Sirius' relationship out in the open. Keeping it a secret was killing me. I guess I just wanted people to know that someone cared about Sirius as much as I did.

* * *

Later that night, I went to go visit Father. I needed to talk with him about this turn of events. Our family wasn't safe anymore, and we needed a plan to protect each other. I stood up and walked out from my office to be met by worried Minerva. She had a look on her face. That _'something is terribly wrong' _look.

"Minerva, if you have bad news, tell me now," I said to her. How could this possibly get any worse?

"Fudge has been to visit Albus. He's denying You-Know-Who is back, and he's saying Potter was lying about everything."

"What?" I was shocked to say the least. These are the points that our leaders should be standing up, not becoming cowards. "This is a joke. He is a joke. I'm telling you from the first time I ever saw him I didn't like him."

"Not many people like him, Isabel. He's paranoid."

"Minerva, this is important. This man is literally controlling our future as a society. With him in charge, we have no hope." Minerva seemed to think about what I had said quite deeply. She looked down at the ground, her lips pursed and her foot tapping. She glanced up at me and sighed.

"There's always hope, Isabel."

* * *

A few days passed, and the whole school just seemed blank. It was a shock to the system, but I didn't think that the students would take it this way. Even people that didn't know him felt as if someone had taken away something precious to them. The teachers, however, were different. We were all trying to digest the news that Voldemort had returned. Everyone believed Harry. Why wouldn't we? How could Cedric just turn up dead? I couldn't imagine how Dumbledore and Harry were feeling. I was also a little shaken up from my encounter with Barty Crouch Jr. He just reminded me how utterly disgusting the Death Eaters were. They had no respect for life. It made me shudder just thinking about it.

* * *

I was walking through the Clock Tower courtyard when I saw someone out of the corner of my eye. They were on the Covered Bridge, looking out at the scenery. It was Harry. I sighed and walked over to him. He seemed lonely - like no one cared. Harry turned towards me when he heard my footsteps. There was so much confusion and sadness in his eyes. I felt so sorry for him.

"Do you ever think that life could get any tougher?" Harry asked me, turning back to look at the scenery.

"I often do think that it could get tougher, but I'm not you, Harry."

"This is frightening me, Isabel," Harry said, running his hand through his hair.

"I'd be surprised if you weren't frightened, Harry. I think we're all frightened at the prospect of You-Know-Who returning. But, Harry, you're not alone in this." I smiled at Harry, trying to assure him that he'd be alright. Problem was, I didn't know if we were going to be alright myself. I had a feeling that Voldemort returning was going to have a huge effect on the whole Wizarding World. The idea that there was going to be a War was playing over in my mind.

"I know I'm not alone," Harry said, breaking the silence. "I just don't want anyone that I care about to get hurt." Harry's capability to love and care so strongly still surprised me to this day.

"Harry, you don't need to worry about that right now. Just...don't think about it, Harry."

"That's fantastic advice," Harry replied before bursting out laughing. I began to laugh, and soon enough, Harry and I were trying to catch our breath because we had been laughing too much.

"Promise me something, Isabel," Harry said.

"Anything, Harry."

"We'll get through this. We'll get through it all." I smiled at Harry and nodded.

"We'll get through it all."

**xxxxx**

* * *

I entered the Great Hall with my father, and proceeded to the front. Instead of house colours, there were black drapes everywhere. I sat down next to Fleur. Beside her was Gabrielle. They were both as pale as ghosts, most likely still trying to recover from the other day. The hall was silent. So silent you could hear a pin drop. The expression of each and every person in the room told the story. Some were already crying, some just had blank looks on their face. They had lost someone special. Someone close to them. I wasn't as close to Cedric as many of the other teachers and students, but I knew how incredible he was. He was truly unique. The room was soon filled with the sound of loud footsteps, and before we knew it, Albus Dumbledore was standing in front of us all. I felt Fleur reach for my hand. I took her hand and gripped it tightly. I glanced over at my father, who stared straight ahead. Although he didn't want to show it or say it, I knew how he was feeling right now. He was frightened about the future of our world...just like the rest of us.

"Today we acknowledge a really terrible loss. Cedric Diggory was as you all know, exceptionally hard working, infinitely fair-minded and most importantly a fierce, fierce friend. Now I think therefore you have the right to know exactly how he died. You see, Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this, but not to do so I think would be an insult to his memory," Dumbledore said. There were gasps and cries when the Headmaster mentioned You-Know-Who's name. Cedric had been murdered by a cold, disgusting being. I didn't want to think about how Harry was feeling. He would be reliving the memory of Cedric being killed. I closed my eyes, and a tear fell. Dumbledore continued his speech, and I could hear Fleur's tears from beside me. I tightened my grip on her hand.

"Remember, if the time should come, when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory." What is right and what is easy. I knew what I would be choosing. I would be fighting for my freedom. For Fleur's, for Gabrielle's, for Mother's, for Harry's, for Sirius'. I wouldn't be taking the easy way out this way...no matter how frightening the future seemed to me.

* * *

It was the day to say goodbye to my sisters. They were to go back to France. I was dreading this day. I had enjoyed my sisters being here with me. I walked to what was seeming like the 'farewell area' and spotted my two sisters, standing there by themselves. Gabrielle tugged on Fleur's coat when she saw me, and started running towards me. I kneeled down and Gabrielle threw her arms around my neck.

"Goodbye, Isabel," Gabrielle said, a tone of sadness in her voice. I broke Gabrielle's hold of me and then took her hands. I smiled at her and tried to keep the tears back. I wanted her to stay so desperately.

"Did you say goodbye to Dobby?" I asked. Gabrielle nodded with a sad smile, becoming teary herself. I wiped a tear from her cheek as she sniffed.

"It won't be long until we see each other soon, I promise. Until then, you have to grow big and strong for me. And I need you to be strong for Mother. Be there for her as much as you can. Can you do that?" I asked. Gabrielle nodded and smiled. I kissed her on the head and stood back up. I turned to Fleur and hugged her tightly. I closed my eyes and took in this feeling. The feeling of warmth, family and love.

"I'm going to miss having you around," I said, reluctantly letting go of her.

"Eet won't be forever," Fleur told me, "besides, you're probably happy to be finally getting rid of me." I laughed at Fleur's little joke and hugged her again.

"Be there for Mother, too. She needs support. And never give your father a chance to hurt you or abuse you. If he does, make sure you send me a letter or apparate to me with Gabrielle. Make sure you keep Gabrielle safe."

"I will, Isabel. Promise. Now, eet seems like someone else wants to speak to you." Fleur pointed over my shoulder, and I turned to see Madame Maxime walking towards me. I contemplated walking off, but I don't think Fleur would be very happy if I did that.

"Professor Snape, may I 'ave a word?" Maxime asked.

"Of course," I replied, nodding, before moving over to the corner with Maxime where we could have some privacy.

"May I first say that I am sorry," Maxime said. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Olympe Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, was apologising...to me? I breathed in deeply, attempting to keep the smart remark that I had planned as a comeback inside. I was to be mature about this.

"Thank you, Madame Maxime. I appreciate your apology," I said. "I also apologise for the way I acted towards you. It wasn't appropriate and I was acting like a child at times. Sometimes I forget that I'm a teacher and not a student."

"You are young, you have much to learn. I do not hold it against you."

"Thank you. And please keep Gabrielle safe. Fleur can look after herself. I just want to make sure that Gabrielle is properly protected."

"I would never let anything happen to her." Maxime nodded and turned her back to me. She walked away gracefully. Her walk was awkward to watch, because she was so large, yet so elegant in the way she moved. There were calls for the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students to say their last goodbyes and head off. Gabrielle and Fleur walked past me quickly, gave me one last hug and made their way to where the rest of the Beauxbatons students were lined up. I wiped a tear and smiled. I would miss them, but I knew I'd see them again soon.

* * *

It was hard to believe that this was it. Another year had finished. I was packing up my trunk in my office, trying to keep a clear head. The damage had been done, though. I was nervous and frightened about what was to come next. It was all so confusing. Would I be split up from certain people? Would it be forbidden for me to go and see Sirius? So many questions that might remain unanswered. There was a loud knock at my door, and I jumped. I breathed out slowly, trying to compose myself.

"It's open!" I called out. I turned to see the greasy hair and hooked nose of my father.

"Isabel, are you almost ready to go?" Father asked. I continued packing my trunk, not answering. It was like I didn't really hear his question; or I did hear his question, but my body just didn't want to answer it.

"Isabel." The same thing happened. I just continued packing, however, the packing became more frantic.

"Isabel!" Father's booming voice startled me so much that I dropped a picture frame I was packing and screamed. Father put his arms on my shoulders and turned me to face him.

"Isabel, listen to me, please. You need to calm down," he said. My rapid breathing slowed down while I closed my eyes to calm myself down. I opened my eyes again and looked right into my father's black eyes.

"I'm alright," I whispered.

"No you aren't," Father said. "I understand what's happening. You're terrified. Terrified of the future and what it holds. It's happening to other people, too. They're scared. But I am telling you now, I'm going to protect you, no matter what it takes." I nodded before bursting into tears. My head fell onto my father's chest as he put his arms around me slowly. He held me tight as I cried onto his black robes.

"I'm so scared," I said.

"I'll protect you." Everything then went silent, as if I just blocked out every other sound except my father's heartbeat. Suddenly, we were interrupted by a cough. We turned to see a house elf, standing there, looking up at us curiously.

"Professor Snape?" The house elf said.

"Which one?" I asked, wiping tears with the sleeve of my dress.

"Young Miss Professor Snape," the house elf stated.

"Yes?"

"Headmaster Dumbledore wants to see Professor Snape immediately."

* * *

**A/N: Hello all. I am so sorry for the late update. I feel quite guilty actually, but it's just been so hectic with Christmas and New Years. And I've had a lot of trouble finishing this chapter.****By the way, how was your Christmas and New Years? I hope it was great.**

**I have a real treat coming up for you over the next few chapters. There will be a lot of Sirius, Tonks will be back, and a few surprises for you too!**

**Ooh, and we've hit 50 chapters! It seems so surreal that I have written so much in this period of time. There's plenty more to come, though!**

**Next Chapter (A long sneak peek for you guys!)**

"I actually have had the pleasure of meeting Miss. Snape," a voice said from the front of the room. I looked up to see Sirius standing there, grinning at me. My heart slowed down as I breathed out slowly. What this man did to me...it was utterly ridiculous. He walked over to me, took my hand and kissed it.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss. Snape," Sirius said. He released my hand, and I felt feint. I looked over at Molly, who was eyeing Sirius, her eyes full of suspicion.


	51. The Order of the Phoenix

**Thanks to: LaFlorine, Tessa, Blitz-gurl-42, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, MissMysticFalls11 & HPFan for your reviews of last chapter.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel and Sirius' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**The Friend's Theme [See Profile]**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I did what that house elf had told me to do - go straight to Dumbledore's office. I was quite curious as to what Dumbledore needed from me. I thought I had played my part already. I had reached the entrance of the Headmaster's office, so I said the password and made my way up to the door. I knocked on it and opened it slowly. I could see Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, writing something on a piece of parchment. He rested his quill down on his desk and looked up at me.

"Isabel," Dumbledore said, "come in, come in." I walked into his office and sat at his desk. I began to think about what this could possibly be about. Was I going to be released from my position at Hogwarts? Maybe the Headmaster was giving me a different position? Whatever this was about, it had to be important. Dumbledore was a busy man, especially now that He Who Must Not Be Named has now returned.

"Isabel, have you ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?" Dumbledore asked me. Order of the Phoenix? I had never heard of such thing.

"No, Sir, I haven't," I replied. I sat down on the chair opposite Dumbledore, now extremely intrigued.

"It is a secret organisation, set up by me, to fight the Death Eaters and Voldemort. It was set up during the First Wizarding War. I am reviving it, now that Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore said. So this was to fight? A resistance of some sort. I already knew that I was going to join. Anything to protect Harry and the rest of the Wizarding World. "Many of your friends have already joined, such as Bill Weasley, Nymphadora and..." The Hogwarts Headmaster stopped before giving me a different look. It was close to being a look of pity.

"What? Who is it, Headmaster?" I asked.

"Remus." I froze. Remus John Lupin. This man, who I almost forgot about, was suddenly about to walk back into my life. I wasn't going to avoid joining the Order because Remus was going to be involved. I knew one day that I'd see him again, I just didn't realise it would be so soon. It would be uncomfortable, but I had to put my selfishness aside.

"Isabel, my dear, are you alright? I know this is going to be difficult for you, however Remus was in the original - "

"I'll join," I said, cutting Dumbledore off. I didn't want to talk of Remus. "Count me in, Sir." Dumbledore nodded, but had a worried expression on his face, as if he knew something would happen to me when Remus and I would see each other again.

"Fantastic. The first meeting is next week at Grimmauld Place. You obviously know how to get there," Dumbledore said with a little smirk. This was definitely an upside - I got to see Sirius more often. "You're going to need this to get in...I've put the Fidelius Charm on Grimmauld Place." Dumbledore passed me a piece of paper. I opened it and read the message.

'_The Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix can be found at 12 Grimmauld Place.' _I nodded and put the piece of paper in my pocket.

"Thank you, Headmaster. I will see you there." I stood up and walked out of Dumbledore's office, nervous. It was only just a matter of time before I saw Remus again, and to make it even worse, I'd have to tell him about my relationship with Sirius. I would have to tell everyone of my relationship with Sirius. Even my father.

* * *

I had arrived at Grimmauld Place and found it easy enough to get in. Some people were easily confused by the Fidelius Charm, and I didn't blame them. I walked inside, and unfortunately, I wasn't early enough to spend some time alone with Sirius. As soon as I closed the door, I was greeted by Molly and Arthur Weasley. Without any exchange of words, Molly wrapped her arms around me, and held me tightly.

"Isabel Snape!" Molly exclaimed, letting go of me. "I have not heard one scrap of news from you at all in Merlin knows how long!" I glanced over at Arthur, who shot me an apologetic look. Molly could be a little overbearing at times.

"Molly," I laughed, "I saw you at the third task!"

"It's still much too long! I was worried about how you've been dealing with this whole situation, and I just wanted you to know I'd be there for you..."

"Molly, I'm fine, really. Now stop before you collapse from not breathing!" Molly threw her hands in the air, surrendering, before moving out of the way to reveal Bill standing behind her. My lips curled up into a smile as I threw myself into one of my best friend's waiting arms.

"Bill Weasley!" I said, hugging him tightly.

"Isabel Snape, how I have missed you." I rested my chin on Bill's shoulder and closed my eyes, taking in the moment. Bill released me and grinned.

"Have you met Sirius Black?" Bill asked me. I gulped and my heart began to race as I remembered that no one except Dumbledore knew about Sirius and I. How would they take it? I'd say Molly would probably die of shock or something. I looked down and flattened my dress, pretending I didn't hear what Bill had said. The best way around this was to avoid the subject all together.

"I actually have had the pleasure of meeting Miss. Snape," a voice said from the front of the room. I looked up to see Sirius standing there, grinning at me. My heart slowed down as I breathed out slowly. What this man did to me...it was utterly ridiculous. He walked over to me, took my hand and kissed it.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss. Snape," Sirius said. He released my hand, and I felt feint. I looked over at Molly, who was eyeing Sirius, her eyes full of suspicion.

"It's a pleasure to see you again as well," I replied, smiling at Sirius.

"The meeting is about to start, come along, Isabel," Molly said, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from Sirius.

* * *

The meeting had finally begun after we waited and waited for everyone to arrive. There were so many people that I knew, and so many people who I had never seen in my life. My father was here, which surprised me a little bit for some reason. Tonks had arrived, and when she did I held her tightly. I missed her so much. I knew she was struggling a little bit with her life at home. I just hoped she was doing better now. Remus wasn't here, and I was told by Sirius that he wasn't coming as he was sent on a small mission by Dumbledore. I was sort of relieved by this. The whole room went silent as the front door slammed. Soon enough, in walked Albus Dumbledore. He stood at the front of the room and faced everyone.

"Hello, everyone," Dumbledore said to the packed room. "First of all, I think each of us should introduce ourselves to each other, just incase you don't know each other. I am Albus Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Hmm, Sirius. You go first."

"I'm Sirius Black, I spend twelve years in Azkaban because the Ministry think I am a murderer and I don't have many things going for me at the moment," Sirius said, half grinning. I tried my hardest not to laugh. Everyone else began introducing themselves. When it came to Tonks' turn, she decided to have a little fun with everyone and changed her hair colour and her nose to a pig snout. It then came my turn to introduce myself. I stood up and moved my jet black hair out of my eyes.

"My name Is Isabel Snape. I'm Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, soon to take over the head job, and I was a Slytherin." I sat down and smiled at some of the people who were staring at me. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. Everyone finished introducing themselves, and Dumbledore then stood up again.

"As you all know, we received quite a shock when Harry Potter finished the third task, a dead Cedric Diggory with him. What shocked us even more was the revelation that Lord Voldemort was the one that killed Diggory, and that he had returned. I have received intelligence that the Death Eaters have started recruiting, but Voldemort himself has been keeping a low profile."

"May I ask, Dumbledore, who this information is from?" Molly asked. Dumbledore looked quite uncomfortable at this question, and his eyes drifted to my father, who simply nodded at Dumbledore.

"Severus. That was who the information was from," Dumbledore replied. I raised my eyebrows and looked over at my father. How on earth did he know this? How was it possible that he knew confidential information from the Death Eaters and Voldemort themselves? Then it dawned on me. Father might have had a role that I never knew he had.

"How does he know this?" I asked. I then looked at Father. "How did you know this?"

"Isabel," Dumbledore said. "And for those of you who don't know, Severus has worked undercover for the Order for years. He finds out information for us from the Death Eaters." I looked at Father and shook my head. I felt so betrayed.

"How could you not tell me this?" I said to Father. "Did you just somehow forget to tell me?"

"Isabel, not here," Father said in a stern voice.

"Isabel, your father is right. You can talk about it later," Dumbledore said. I sat back in my seat and crossed my arms. I was not happy.

"Now, let's continue. We need to set up some sort of security for Harry Potter. He needs to be watched before eventually being brought here to Grimmauld Place. For now, I just need a few volunteers to watch him." A few people put their hands up, including Sirius. Dumbledore shook his head at Sirius, and Sirius' hand slowly went down.

"You of all people can't, Sirius. You know that," Dumbledore said.

"I just wanted to see my godson."

"You will eventually see him again, Sirius." I felt sorry for him. Sirius had to stay inside all day because the Ministry was still after him. I was worried that he would never be able to walk outside a free man again.

* * *

The meeting had finished, and most people began to leave Grimmauld Place. My father stood up, said his goodbyes to me and left. I assumed he left because he couldn't stand being social. We were soon joined in the room by Ron, Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione. I was glad to see them, but wondered why Fred and George weren't allowed in the room. They were of age, after all. Probably Molly being overprotective again. Molly began serving dinner to the people sitting around the table. Dumbledore had stayed, as did Minerva, Tonks, Moody and Kingskey Shacklebolt. The Weasley's also sat around the table, along with Hermione. I sat in between Tonks and Bill, but wanted to sit next to Sirius badly. As we began to eat, Sirius stood up and cleared his throat. I glanced at him, wondering what he was doing.

"I have an announcement," Sirius said to the group. I coughed and nearly choked on the bread I was eating. Bill hit me on the back to aid me. I knew that Sirius was going to tell everyone that we were together, and I was panicking. I didn't want half the people in here to know, especially Molly and Minerva. I would most likely be lectured on how I was being totally irresponsible by being with him.

"You alright?" Bill asked me.

"Yep, fine," I lied. Thank Merlin that Father and Remus weren't here, or this could have been very ugly. I wasn't ready for this. I had this all planned out. I would tell the important people, such as Father, individually before the whole group found out. Sirius looked down at me, and I tried very hard to tell him not to do it without giving it away.

"Yes, Sirius?" Molly asked.

"Isabel and I are together," Sirius said. I felt the whole room turn to look at me, and my head fell in my hands. What had Sirius gotten us into?

"Excuse me?" Molly snapped.

"Did you not hear me clearly, Molly? I said Isabel and I are together. As in romantically involved together," Sirius said slowly. I looked up at him, and he was grinning. He was obviously having fun with this.

"ISABEL SNAPE, I EXPECT BETTER FROM YOU!" Molly suddenly shouted, making me jump.

"Molly, please," Arthur said to his wife, putting his hand on her arm, trying to calm her down. Molly shrugged Arthur's hand off her and walked over to Sirius, pointing some kind of kitchen tool at him.

"You are taking advantage of this girl, I just know it!" Molly exclaimed.

"Molly, he isn't taking advantage of me," I said.

"What?"

"Sirius and I are together, Molly. We care very deeply about each other, and I don't care what you or anyone else thinks. All I can ask is that you respect our decision," I said calmly.

"He is much too old for you, Isabel!" Molly cried. "You must see sense!"

"I am of age, I can make my own decisions. As for the age gap, I don't really see it. As long as we're happy and he is treating me right."

"You are making a huge mistake, Isabel, I'm telling you," Molly said, glaring at Sirius. "And I'll be watching you carefully, Sirius."

"Sure you will, Molly," Sirius said, brushing off Molly's comments. "Now, does anyone else have anything to add?" Sirius and I looked around the room at everyone's surprised faces.

"I would just like to say that I don't support it, but as long as Isabel is happy, I will not complain or make any negative comments about it," Minerva said. I smiled at Minerva, glad that she understood. I glanced around the room, and mostly everyone had the same expression, except Fred. Fred seemed somewhat hurt. I had no idea why he looked so upset.

"Did anyone know about this?" Minerva asked.

"I did," Dumbledore answered, raising his hand.

"Well, let's just hope Severus finds out from Isabel and not from any of us," Minerva said, looking at me. I suddenly felt a rush of guilt. I needed to tell my father sooner rather than later. It turned out he wasn't the only one with a big secret.

* * *

I was sitting in the living room by myself, when I was joined by Tonks and Bill. They sat either side of me, and were both silent. I knew that they were both shocked, too. I wondered if either of them were disappointed of me like Molly was.

"It's been quite a day," I said, breaking the silence.

"You can say that again," Bill said.

"Why didn't you tell us, Isabel? We're your best friends. We're always there for you. It doesn't matter to us if you're involved with Sirius," Tonks said.

"You don't expect me to believe that it doesn't matter to you.I saw the look on your face, Tonks."

"He's my cousin, he's much older than you...I just think it wouldn't end up very well. He has problems he needs to get passed first in order to be with you."

"I'm there for him through all of his problems," I replied. I was becoming offended at Tonks' words. Why did she care so much if I was with Sirius or not? It wasn't going to have any effect on her life.

"And what's going to happen if he's caught by the Ministry and sent back to Azkaban, and you were there with him? You'll be sent to Azkaban with him, and you'll be the shame to your family and the shame to Hogwarts," Tonks snapped.

"Where is all this coming from?" I asked rudely. How could she speak to me like this? I was her best friend. She was my best friend. I thought she'd be supporting me rather than shooting me down. "Why are you saying these things to me."

"Tonks, just leave it," Bill said. "You're asking for nothing but trouble and there is absolutely no reason to be saying these things to Isabel, okay?" Bill turned to me and took my hand. "I'm not going to lie to you, Isabel, it's not the ideal situation for you. Sirius is a good guy, there's no doubt about that, but he does have his problems. He's spent twelve years in Azakban, he drinks a lot and there is the age gap. We're just worried about you."

"There's no need to be worried about me. I'm a big girl and I can look after myself, alright? Thanks for being so concerned though." I stood up and walked out of the room, irritated. They were supposed to be my best friends. They were supposed to be there for me through everything, yet they couldn't support me through this one little thing. I walked up the hallway and ran into Sirius, who put his arms on my shoulders to steady me.

"It's been quite a day," Sirius said to me. I couldn't help but laugh at his choice of words...the same words that I used just minutes ago. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing. Never mind."

"There are some very unhappy people at the moment," Sirius told me. "Molly definitely wanted to curse my backside into next year."

"You think that was bad...you should have seen Tonks. She was going on about if you went back to Azkaban, I'd be dragged back with you and all that crap." I wrapped my arms around Sirius neck and closed my eyes. "I just want people to accept us for what we are." Sirius kissed my head and took my hands.

"I have something to ask you," he said.

"Yes?"

"It gets a little lonely sometimes here alone. I just wondered if you'd like to move in here to live with me."

"You're asking me to move in with you?" I asked.

"That's exactly what I'm asking you."

"I would love to move in with you," I replied, beaming. Like I said earlier, I didn't care what anyone else thought of Sirius and I. We were happy, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

**A/N: As I promised, there would be a lot more action this chapter. Molly was very unhappy knowing Sirius and Isabel were together. I can only think of two people that would be unhappier about it. And they'll find out within the next few chapters.**

**I wanted to update quickly because I thought you guys deserved a chapter after waiting ages for the last one.**

**In answer to LaFlorine's review - Lucius will be back eventually, I just can't say when. It's a surprise.  
In reponse to LadyFate's review - I actually haven't seen Phantom of the Opera...**

**Next Chapter -  
**Isabel bribes Molly into covering for her. Isabel tells her father she'll be moving in with the Weasley's for a while. Isabel moves into Grimmauld Place, and she celebrates her birthday with Sirius, Ron, Bill, Fred, George, Ginny, Hermione, Arthur and Molly.


	52. Moving Out, Moving In

**Thanks to: LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, MissMysticFalls11, alexis, LaFlorine, HPFan & ThoughtVortex for your reviews of last chapter.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Severus' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Every Time You Go by Ellie Goulding  
Us Against the World by Coldplay **_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Sirius and I began to work on some strategies for me moving into Grimmauld Place. It's not like Father would accept me moving out, into the home of Sirius Black, his arch enemy, freely. If he knew that I was doing this, he'd probably kill Sirius and then lock me up in Azkaban. It was a little frightening to think about actually.

"Does your father not trust you?" Sirius asked me.

"Do you truly believe that my father would let me move in here with you, no questions asked? Don't be daft, Sirius," I replied, waving my hand to brush off his question.

"You did not answer my original question."

"And what was that?"

"Does your father not trust you?"

"It's you that my father does not trust, Sirius." Sirius frowned. "And I'm afraid he will never trust you. Not after what you all did to him," I said coldly. Sirius froze and stared blankly into my eyes. This was probably the last thing he was expecting from me.

"What do you mean, Isabel?"

"Lies, Sirius. You know exactly what I mean."

"Well your father isn't as innocent as you think he is, either, Isabel."

"Don't turn this back on him, Sirius. You teased him terribly while he was at Hogwarts. It makes me sick to even think that you would do something like that to another person. Did it make you feel big, strong and popular when you did that?" Sirius was now looking away from me. There was something distant about him. It was as if his body was there, but his mind had run away from him. I waited and waited for response, but gave up. It was obvious that he didn't want to speak about this. I slammed my hands on the table and got up out of my chair.

"Maybe moving in together was a bad idea," I said.

"Isabel, no, wait. Sit back down," Sirius said. I stood there, pondering whether I should sit back down, before doing just that and resting my head on my chin. "I'm an idiot, and I certainly don't deserve you. I just don't want you to judge me on my past and on the way I've treated others. This relationship has so many flaws, but that's what makes it great. I cannot bear for you to end up hating me because of how I used to treat your father. And even if I still don't like him very much, I don't want it to influence our relationship." I couldn't help but smile. Sirius was right. I couldn't let other people influence us. If we were happy, that's all that mattered.

"Now, I have a plan," I said. "It might not work, but it's worth a try."

* * *

The next day I found myself sitting in the Weasley's living room with Molly and Arthur opposite me. Molly was staring me down, obviously still unhappy with me. I twiddled my thumbs, and everything seemed too silent.

"I have a favour to ask you," I said, breaking the silence. "Both of you."

"This favour wouldn't have anything to do with Sirius Black, would it?" Molly snapped.

"Molly, please. I have no desire for my relationship with Sirius to affect any other of my relationships with anyone. You'll just have to accept that I'm with him."

"He is much too old for you, Isabel, and he is useless for you! He will not provide for you and he will certainly not give you and freedom. You might as well go to Azkaban prison because being with him and living with him means you'll have to stay locked up."

"Why can't you just accept that I'm happy?"

"Because you could be doing so much better, Isabel."

"What, like Charlie or Bill?" I snapped. Molly paused and pursed her lips before nodding.

"Well, now that I consider it, yes, they would be excellent choices."

"They're not interested, Molly, and neither am I. They are like my brothers. I don't have any romantic interest in them whatsoever." Molly was silenced by my response. It was like she had just closed up, and she wasn't interested in what I had to say anymore. I honestly didn't care what Molly had to say anymore. She had chosen to have a closed mind about my relationship with Sirius, and that was it. I turned to Arthur and placed my hands on the table.

"What do you think, Arthur?" I asked.

"About what?" He answered, but he knew perfectly well what I was talking about.

"Is everyone going to treat me differently now? I'm still the same person as I was before..."

"Isabel, what you have to understand is that you are in a relationship with a man who has been to Azkaban prison; a man who is a convicted murderer," Arthur said before letting out a sigh. He adjusted the glasses he was wearing, probably just to pause and break some of the tension in the room. "Now, I shall give you my opinion on the matter. Isabel, as long as you are happy and he is treating you well, I don't have any problem with you being in a relationship with Sirius Black. He might not be the best choice, but he's certainly making you smile again, and that is a positive. Don't listen to anyone else. Just listen to yourself and what you want." Molly slammed her hands on the table and stood out of her chair. She glared at Arthur, most likely because he didn't back her up.

"Am I the only one with common sense here? Sirius Black will hurt her, I am sure of it!" Molly shouted, her hands in the air.

"Molly, it isn't your decision," Arthur said to her calmly. "So, Isabel, what was that favour you were going to ask of us." Arthur's eyes told me to exercise caution with my request, but it was too late. Molly was furious, and what I was going to ask of her and her husband was not going to make it any better.

"Sirius asked me to move into Grimmauld Place, and I accepted."

"What?" Molly spat. "Now you're just digging a hole for yourself, Isabel. Stop being such a stupid girl."

"Molly, just be quiet!" I said. "I've had enough of your negativity!" Molly was no longer looking at me. Her eyes were fixed on her husband, her eyes full of anger. She seemed like she was going to explode at any second. "Now, Arthur, I'm telling you this because there is no way my father would let me live at Grimmauld Place, so I'm asking if you'll cover for me and say that I'm going to be living with you."

"I would gladly do this for you," Arthur said. A smile grew on my face. "But, there is a slight complication." The smile was wiped from my face instantly. Complication? "We're going to be moving in there, too." What did he mean? The Weasley's were going to be moving into Grimmauld Place? "You see, Molly wants to get the rest of the cleaning of that house done, and it'd be easier for us to get to Order meetings and so on."

"This shouldn't be a problem. We'll continue with the plan that I had set up."

"I will not be made out a fool, Isabel," Molly snapped, sitting down, then turning to her husband. "Arthur, we must say no to this. It is irresponsible of us!"

"You're forgetting she's of age, Molly," Arthur replied, shrugging his shoulders. "There isn't much we can do."

"You will not be made out a fool, Molly. If you have a problem with Sirius and I, then I understand, but do not string me along just so you can receive more information about the nature of my relationship with him. All I want is you to assure my father that I will be living with you."

"What if Severus wanted to come and visit you?" said Arthur. To the surprise of Molly and Arthur, I laughed.

"She really has lost it, Arthur," Molly muttered, loud enough so I could just hear her. She probably wanted me to hear her anyway.

"Oh, forgive me. I'm sorry. My father doesn't visit people. People visit him. He isn't exactly the social type. He enjoys sitting at home alone in his study reading books and newspapers. He likes to be alone most of the time. I assure you there will be no problems in that department."

"Well then, it's settled. I will gladly help you out with this, Isabel. After all, you have done so much for our family. It's time we repaid the favour to you," Arthur said cheerily, ignoring his wife.

"Thank you, Arthur. It means a lot to me." My eyes then went to Molly, who was scowling at Arthur and I, her arms crossed. I turned back to Arthur and smiled, not taking notice of how unhappy Molly was with me.

* * *

A few days later, the day had come. The day I was to tell Father that I am moving out. I was still quite angry at him from the Order meeting the other night. Who wouldn't be angry? He suddenly forgot to tell me that he had been spying on the Death Eaters. A part of me was proud. He was being so brave. He was risking his life to try and get rid of Voldemort and to save our world. Yet, another part of me was scared; scared that maybe it wasn't all that it seemed. My heart said he was doing this for us; for the Wizarding World, but my brain said that there was something else to this. I brushed off these feelings and knocked on the door of my father's study.

"Enter," Father called out. I walked in slowly and sat behind Father's desk. "Isabel, what is it you want?"

"Why do you always assume I want something when I come in here to see you? Maybe I could be saying hello to you," I replied to him, folding my arms. It was true, though. I never came to see Father to say hello. I never really came to see Father at all. Father set his copy of the _'Daily Prophet' _on the desk and looked at me, his black eyes piercing mine. I breathed in deeply to keep composed. After all these years, he still intimidated me.

"I came to tell you something. You may not like it, but it's not something I'm asking you. It's something I'm doing without your permission or not." Father sat forward, seemingly interested in what I had to say now. My blood ran from my cheeks, and I became more pale than I already am. My nerves had kicked in. I was afraid of what Father was going to say back to me. He wasn't one to take news, or anything about me lightly.

"Well, what is it? I don't have all day, Isabel. I have things I need to get back to," Father said coldly.

"I...I'm going to move out of here," I said bluntly. Father's gaze was fixed on me, and his expression didn't change. It was like he had turned to stone. Was it possible that he had gone into shock? I was sure that my announcement wasn't _that _serious that he had gone into shock. I moved in my seat, finding the situation incredibly awkward.

"This has certainly come from nowhere," Father said. "I thought you were happy here."

"I was. I mean, I am. It's just, I need to move out to grow as a person and become more independent. I don't think I can do that hanging off my father everyday." Father nodded and picked up his wand.

"When shall I schedule a portkey for you to go back to France?" Father asked. What did he mean back to France? I then realised it...he was thinking that I wanted to move back with Mother. That I wanted to give away the life I had here to go hide in France while the war played out.

"Father, I don't want to go back to France."

"You don't?" I shook my head and smiled.

"My life is here with you, and at Hogwarts." The smile was then wiped off my face when I thought of my step-father. "He wouldn't allow me back there with Mother anyway. He kicked me out before I came to live with you. As if I would ever be allowed to move back in there, and as if I would ever want to move back in with that pig." I swear I saw a smile flash upon my father's face. I knew he disliked Louis, too; mostly because of his treatment of me.

"I think moving out would be good for you, as well," Father said, surprising me.

"Really?"

"Yes. Although, depends where you're moving."

"To the Weasley's. I've talked to Molly and Arthur and they said it's fine for me to stay with them until I buy a house of my own." Father rolled his eyes. I knew he didn't like the Weasley's, but it was better than me telling him that I'd be living with Sirius. Heads are going to roll when he finds out about that.

"It could be worse. And you're of age, so I have no say in the matter. You also said that you're telling me, so you would do it anyway," Father said, seemingly to himself. "I guess you'll be moving out then."

"Thank you, Father. Thank you." It had gone off without a hitch. He didn't have one suspicion at all. I was thankful, as it could have been a million times worse than it was.

"Wait. Before you go, Isabel, we must talk about what you heard in the Order meeting the other night," said Father, standing up quickly to try and stop me from leaving his study.

"There's nothing to talk about," I told Father. "You didn't tell me your side of the story and I don't care. It's your business and not mine, and if you want to continue risking your life while I get more frightened everyday that something's going to happen to you, be my guest. I'm not going to move out on a sour note," I added. We stood in silence for a moment, but I couldn't handle being in this room right now. I didn't want to talk about how he was going to sacrifice himself for the good of the Wizarding World. I needed him safe, but obviously he didn't realise that. I turned away from my father and marched down the main corridor of our house. It was time to begin packing my things.

* * *

It was odd. Nearly 9 years ago I came to live here, and now I was packing up, getting ready to leave. I took out the clothes from my dresser and wardrobe and placed it nearly in my trunk labelled _'Isabel Snape.' _I closed my eyes and remembered the first time the last name Snape appeared on my trunk. I was being kicked out of the Delacour house and being forced to move in with Father. Now that I thought of it, I couldn't imagine my life without my father. In a way, he saved me. I placed the last of my clothes in my trunk and began to pack my other things.

"Need any help?" I turned to see Tonks standing in the doorway, her wand in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" I asked rudely, thinking of her reaction from the Order meeting the other night. Like Molly, she didn't seem exactly supportive.

"You have every reason to be angry at me," she said. I sighed and placed a pile of books in a wooden box.

"I'm not angry with you, I just wish you'd be a little more supportive."

"I was wrong the other night, Isabel. Sirius is troubled, that's all. I just don't want to see you get hurt." I turned to Tonks and raised my eyebrows.

"Do you think I would be in a relationship with him if I didn't think I couldn't handle the bad parts of him. Sirius has many flaws, but everyone does. As soon as everyone accepts that I'm not a little girl anymore the better..."

"No one thinks you're a little girl," Tonks sighed.

"Well then everyone has to stop being overprotective. I know what I'm doing, and if something goes on I'll break it off with him. I...I love him, Tonks."

"You love him?" I bit my lip and nodded. Tonks smiled and held her arms out. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her.

"As long as he's making you happy, then I'm happy," Tonks said.

"You are the best best friend ever, you know that?"

"I've been told," Tonks laughed. She stepped out of the hug and looked around her. "Looks like we have a lot to pack. Let's get cracking."

* * *

I stood at the door of my home at Spinner's End, taking in my last few moments as a resident here. It was a dreary place, but it was my home. Father walked down the stairs, his black robes flowing behind him. I would miss my father, but all kids did this. All kids move out of home eventually. Besides, Father would always be here. I could always come and see him if I missed him. He strolled over to me and held out a box.

"You almost forgot this," he said. I opened it to see Eileen's bracelet, the Prince family heirloom that had been passed down to me.

"Thank you, Dad."

"It is going to be highly unusual you not being here, and not hearing Miss. Tonks," Father looked over at Tonks, who leaned on a wall behind me, hands in her pockets, "coming in and making an awful racket." I smiled and put my arms around my father. He returned the hug, holding me tightly.

"You are welcome to come home here, at any time."

"Thanks, Dad." Father let go of me and bowed his head at Tonks.

"Make sure she gets there safely," Father said to her sternly. Tonks' smile turned into a very serious expression.

"Of course Professor Snape." Father turned back to me.

"Goodbye, Isabel. Be safe."

"Bye, Dad."

* * *

"Sirius?" I called out. "Sirius?" I dropped two of my trunks next to me, as Tonks dropped my other trunk and my wooden boxes. A creak came from the staircase, and Tonks' head and mine snapped up. Sirius stood at the top of the staircase with Kreacher. They walked down the stairs, and Sirius looked to Kreacher, who only gave a nod before snapping his fingers to levitate my trunk.

"He's taking it to our room," Sirius said. Our room. That sounded strange. I no longer had a room to myself, I was sharing it. I laughed to myself, because it was all happening so fast; yet, I didn't have a problem with it.

"What's so funny?" Sirius asked, putting his arm around me.

"Oh, nothing. Don't you worry," I answered, beaming at him.

"Well," Tonks said, breaking up our little moment. "I should be going so you two can have some privacy. I'll see you at the next Order meeting."

"Thanks for your help, Tonks," I told her.

"Anytime." Tonks winked and grinned at me before walking out the front door, leaving Sirius and I to ourselves.

* * *

I placed the last of my boxes in the living area and collapsed on the chair behind me. Kreacher had taken care of my three trunks, and had placed them in my room. It was clear that I had a lot of work to do with this house. It was still dirty, still very old and there were all sorts of creatures living in small areas of the house. Sirius walked in the room and grinned. His smile always lit up the room, no matter how dark it was. He grabbed my hands and pulled me up towards him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me softly. I leaned my head on his chest, but was filled with a terrible smell. Stale drink.

"Sirius..."

"Yes, love?"

"You smell," I said, releasing myself from his grip. "How much have you been drinking lately?" Sirius' cheeks went red, and I knew I had caught him.

"Just a bit, I was lonely, you see."

"Right. Well, you need to change your clothes because those ones smell absolutely rotten," I told him sternly.

"I could take them off right here," Sirius said, winking at me. I rolled my eyes at his playful tone. "Right, point taken," he added when he saw my expression. "Will do. I've forgotten what it's like to live with someone so forgive me if I'm a little troubling at times." He was troubling, but it was one of the best things about him. I adored him the way he was, so I'd be disappointed if he didn't challenge me.

"I want a nap," I announced. "I'm tired."

"Be my guest."

"Could you unpack some of my stuff?" I asked, fluttering my eyelashes at him while putting on a sweet smile, hoping he'd melt and fall for it.

"Who am I to deny you? Fine."

"Thank you," I said, kissing him quickly before making my way up the stairs and into my new bedroom.

* * *

I was almost asleep when I felt an arm slip around my waist. I sighed and turned over to see Sirius laying next to me. It was becoming real now; we were becoming real. He reached out and brushed a few strands of hair away from my eyes.

"There, now I can see your beautiful eyes," he whispered.

"Am I dreaming?" I asked softly.

"Unfortunately for you, no," Sirius replied, laughing quietly. "I'm so incredibly lucky. I don't deserve you." I smiled and closed my eyes, hoping to sleep.

"I'm the lucky one," I murmured.

* * *

**A/N: Yay, a long chapter! I thought you guys deserved a long one.  
We got 6 reviews for last chapter, I hope I'm not asking too much when I ask for a bit more.  
Come on guys, 10+ reviews for next chapter. Even 3 words will do! **

**Last chapter I said that it would be Isabel's birthday. This is a mistake, but it will be happening soon! Speaking of birthdays, I've had a few complaints of how old she is, her admittance to Hogwarts being wrong dates etc. Just have to clear up one thing. Like J.K. Rowling, maths isn't my strong point. Don't really pay attention to it all...**

**Next chapter is a HUGE chapter guys. One that I know many of you have been waiting for.  
****Here is your sneak peek...  
**"Sirius! Put me down!" I shouted, trying not to let my laughs get in the way. Sirius smiled and pressed a kiss to my lips. All the cares that I had went away at that second. He was the center of my world. This was what it felt like to be in love.

"What the - ?" I heard a voice say. Sirius pulled back from the kiss and we both turned to see who it was.

**Questions for this chapter (yes, I'm bringing back the questions!) -  
****1. Who is your favourite character from Harry Potter.  
****2. What do you think is going to happen to Isabel for the rest of the story? (Any psychic's out there?)**

**Last but not least (I know...long Authors Note), I've made a tumblr page for this story. Feel free to check it out!  
Link: bellabellex . tumblr . com (without the spaces, obviously)  
****It contains the themes of the characters, Isabel's bio, fanfic banners, sneak peeks and a whole lot more! **


	53. Remus

**Thanks to: LG, LaFlorine, Crystalkubbi-chan, j, HPFan, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, claudine, ThoughtVortex, LadyFateContemplatingDiaster, MissMysticFalls11 & Tessa.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**It Is What It Is by Lifehouse  
**__**Head Over Heels by Digital Daggers  
**__**Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I woke up to the sun shining in on my face, and a flower on the pillow next to me. A white rose. I held the rose up to my nose and took in it's beautiful scent. I couldn't have asked for a better start to the day. Beneath the rose was a piece of parchment. I picked it up and read the message on it.

_Sorry for stinking up the place.  
__Hope the rose makes up for it, and makes up for me being an idiot most of the time.  
__Sirius._

I smiled and placed the parchment on my bedside table. I threw the blanket off me and stood up out of bed, stretching my arms and yawning. I took the rose off my pillow and held onto it tightly. I was thankful that there were no thorns on it. I opened the door, and screamed at who was behind it.

"KREACHER! You gave me a fright!"

"Kreacher apologises to the daughter of Severus Snape," he said, bowing his head. "Stupid half blood girl."

"Kreacher," I warned. "Don't give Sirius another reason to hate you more than he already does."

"My poor mistress," Kreacher said to himself, pushing past me. "If she saw what sort of filth stepped into her house now...what sort of filth her son had chosen to give his heart to." I shook my head and brushed off Kreacher's insane ramblings. I shut the door behind me and walked down the creaky stairs, down to the ground floor of the house. I arrived in the kitchen to see Sirius, sitting there, staring up at me.

"Morning," he said, grinning. I opposite Sirius, where a plate of toast and eggs were waiting. I smiled up at Sirius, knowing he had made this for me.

"For me?"

"Of course it's for you, Isabel. And I see you liked the rose." Sirius pointed out the rose in my hand.

"I loved it. It was a beautiful gesture."

"I tend to have my moments," Sirius said, giving me a playful smile. "I heard you yell at Kreacher. Want to tell me what that's all about?" Sirius took a sip from his tea and set it down, giving me his full attention.

"He just frightened me, that's all."

"I see. Well, I have news for you. The second Order meeting is today, and the Weasley's are moving in after the meeting." I frowned at this news. I wanted to have a lot more alone time with Sirius. Last night was wonderful. I just wished that the Weasley's didn't have to come so soon. Although, it was going to be great having everyone here for company.

"Why are you frowning?" Sirius asked me, apparently concerned.

"In all honesty, I just wanted to spend some more time with you." Sirius laughed.

"You're gorgeous, you know that? Now, eat. I didn't make that for you to sit and stare at it." I looked down at my plate of food and pushed my hair back. He always managed to surprise me. There was never a dull moment when Sirius was around, that was for sure.

* * *

Before our second Order meeting, Sirius and I were waiting for the members to arrive. It was good having someone to live with now. When I lived with Father, it seemed like it was just me there half the time. He sat in his study all day, reading books and testing out new potions. It did annoy me to some extent. However, living with Sirius was the complete opposite. He wanted me to be around all the time. I didn't make any objections to this.

"Did Kreacher clean the dining room?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, quite reluctantly, though. He told me to leave as soon as I went and checked it. He hates me."

"He hates everyone" Sirius replied. I sighed. I wished Kreacher would be more like Dobby. I hoped Sirius would get to meet Dobby one day, just to show him how lovely house elves can be. Sirius treated Kreacher rather harshly. I hoped it was only because of Kreacher's attitude, not because he was a house elf.

"What shall we do to pass the time?" Sirius asked.

"Not sure, what do you think?"

"Hmm, well, I think that - " a smile grew on Sirius face as he stood up and swooped me off the chair, picking me up in his arms. I laughed loudly as my arms reached around Sirius neck for stability. I felt like I was going to fall backwards at any second.

"Sirius," I laughed, "what are you doing?" Sirius spun around and I held on tighter.

"Sirius! Put me down!" I shouted, trying not to let my laughs get in the way. Sirius smiled and pressed a kiss to my lips. All the cares that I had went away at that second. He was the center of my world. This was what it felt like to be in love.

"What the - ?" I heard a voice say. Sirius pulled back from the kiss and we both turned to see who it was.

"Oh no" I whispered, looking straight at a very angry Remus Lupin. Sirius put me back to the ground and tried to keep calm.

"Moony...er...you're a little early." Remus stormed over to him and pushed him back.

"So, when were you planning on telling me, Padfoot? Were you going to tell me when you were already married?"

"Moony..."

"Don't, 'Moony' me, Sirius. You know! You know how much I loved her!" Remus shouted, pointing at me. "She was supposed to be with me!"

"You left her, Remus! You left her in the middle of a forest telling her to forget you! So she did! She moved on and I made her happy." Remus' had a look in his eye, one that I had never seen before. Remus pushed Sirius to the ground and growled, his inner werewolf starting to show. I rushed over to stand between the two and put my hands on Remus' chest, trying to get him to look at me.

"Remus! Remus Lupin, you stop it right now!" I shouted. Remus' eyes tore from Sirius to look at me. His eyes grew softer as they met mine.

"How could you do this?" Remus whispered.

"You left me Remus. I loved you...and you knew it. You simply told me to forget you. I had to move on, Remus. Sirius makes me happy..."

"It could have been someone else."

"You would have reacted in the same way, Remus."

"That's a lie, Isabel. It's a lie and you know it." Remus' pained expression tore me to bits. I hadn't seen him for a year, and this is how we are reunited. He sees me kissing his best friend. This was the lowest our friendship had sunk. I didn't mean for him to see it. Remus was attempting to get past me to have another go at Sirius. I tried to get Remus from pushing Sirius even more by holding his collar.

"Remus, Remus please...please stop," I pleaded. He pushed me off and gave me a sad look.

"You knew. You knew I loved you." Remus looked down to the ground and then walked out of the room. I turned back to Sirius and sighed.

"That went well," Sirius said, holding his cheek. I sighed and pursed my lips. I helped Sirius up and looked at his cheek. It was red, but at least no other damage had been done. I had never been more frightened of Remus before, apart from when he turned into a werewolf in front of me.

"I'll speak to him" Sirius told me.

"No" I said, shaking my head, "he'll end up punching you again. I'll speak to him."

* * *

I walked into the kitchen, where Remus was sitting at the table, looking straight ahead. His eyes were dull and he seemed lifeless.

"Remus?" I said softly. He didn't look up at me. He just ignored me. I had done this to myself. Of course Remus was going to react like this. What was I expecting him to be like? Jumping up and down, smiling and clapping, wanting to know when the wedding date was? Of course not! I slowly pulled out the chair next to Remus and sat down. Remus didn't turn to me, he continued to ignore me.

"Remus..." Remus glanced at me and then looked back away.

"Remus, I'm sorry. You have to know that."

"You're not sorry," he said, not even looking at me. "You have what you want, and that's Sirius. There is no need for us to talk anymore."

"Don't say that. You're my best friend, and I love you."

"It was never enough, though. You realise, every night after classes, I would wish for you to suddenly fall in love with me."

"I did fall in love with you, but you are right. It was never going to be enough, Remus." This was going to hurt Remus terribly, but he had to know this. I couldn't lie to him anymore. He meant to much to me. I was going to do my very best to revive our friendship.

"You think your perfect, don't you, Isabel?" Remus spat. "You think your so perfect that even when you hurt people that they'll forgive you straight away."

"I...I'm not perfect, Remus. I have so many flaws. I constantly think that I'm not good enough. And I get scared. All the time, I am scared that someone will hurt my father, my sisters, my mother, Sirius...you."

"Just go away, Isabel. You aren't making anything better. You're just making it worse."

"Okay, fine. I'm not giving up with you, though. I want us to be friends again."

"I SAID GO AWAY!" Remus shouted at me. I sat there, silent and shaking. That wasn't the Remus I knew. He would never yell at me that way.

"You know what, Remus? You left me for months and you turn up here...this is me trying to save our friendship. You mean the world to me, and when you left me I was a wreck. You turn up here after months and I was going to be nice. Well, guess what, I'm not nice anymore! How dare you cut me off! All I got was a letter. One lousy letter! I was worried about you, I cried over you and someone couldn't mention your name without me flinching! I needed you and you weren't there for me. I loved you!" At that point, I had become so overwhelmed that my breath began to shake, and I burst into tears.

"It was for the best..."

"The best for you, Remus. Not the best for me."

"I did everything to please you, Isabel."

"You left me..."

"Isabel, I just want you to go away. I don't feel like speaking to you right now," Remus said to me. I didn't move, so Remus stood up. "If you won't leave, I will." I didn't want him to go. I was getting desperate for him to stay here.

"Remus, we need to speak about this," I told him. I grabbed his arm and turned him to face me. Remus then pushed me back against the wall and stood over me.

"You never listen to me...I told you to go away," Remus said, darkly. He had a hold on my arm, so I couldn't get away, he was too strong. My breath was trembling, and I stared at Remus, my eyes pleading with him to let go.

"Remus," I whispered. "Remus, please, you're hurting me." At that moment, I swore I heard a growl come from him. This wasn't Remus Lupin. This was an impostor. He wasn't who he used to be.

"Isabel?" Sirius called out. Seconds later, Sirius ran into the room, pulled Remus away from me and punched him in the face. I fell to the ground and held my arm. It was very badly bruised already. Sirius quickly kneeled beside me and looked at my arm. His eyes were full of anger.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked. I nodded my head, still shaking. I looked at Remus, who's eyes widened at the sight of me.

"Isabel...oh Merlin, Isabel," Remus said, shaking his head and backing away. "I never meant to do this to you. What have I done? I am so sorry." Loud footsteps were heard, and the three of us turned to the doorway to see Dumbledore and Minerva, standing there like statues, shocked looks on their faces. Remus glanced at me, his eyes full of regret, before walking out of the room. Minerva rushed over to me and knelt beside me.

"My dear, are you alright?" I nodded my head, attempting to keep composed. However, my attempt failed miserably. I fell into the arms of Minerva, sobbing.

"Sirius, go and find Remus. Talk to him. I'm sure he's incredibly upset with himself right now," Dumbledore said.

"I think I'm the last person Remus wants to talk to right now," Sirius replied. "He'll probably want to punch my face off or something." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at Sirius, and Sirius made a pained expression. "Fine, fine! I'll do it! You're responsible if I get hurt, Dumbledore." Sirius marched out of the room in search of his best friend, while I wailed on the floor in Minerva's arms.

* * *

Minerva helped to calm me down, and then she let me go and find Sirius and Remus. For all we knew, they could be physically fighting, and she agreed that I was the only one able to calm him down. I walked out of the kitchen and down the hallway. There was no yelling, so at least we could but one of them getting hurt out of the equation. I tip-toed past the living room, where I could hear two voices, talking to each other quietly.

"Gee, Moony, couldn't have gone any harder on my face, could you?" I recognised that voice as Sirius. I felt terrible that he was hurt. This was my fault, not Sirius'.

"Come on, Padfoot. What did you expect? A handshake and a hug?"

"A hug would have been nice."

"You stole my girl."

"Technically, she was never yours...okay, sorry. Don't look at me like that."

"You know what this means, Sirius?"

"You tell me, Moony. What does all of this confusion mean?"

"We're in love with the same woman." I covered my mouth to contain the gasp that was surely going to be loud enough for them to hear. I backed away from the door and walked quickly back into the kitchen, my face more pale than it was before.

"Isabel, my child, what is it?" Minerva asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Minerva...they're both in love with me."

* * *

The Order meeting had begun, and luckily Father had not showed. He would have easily sensed that something was wrong with me, and it would have ended up in complete disaster. Remus sat opposite me on the table, and I tried my very hardest not to look at him. I was scared that the hurt would all come bursting out in front of everyone. I could see Sirius glancing at me every thirty seconds or so, as if he was checking up on me.

"We need to keep that prophecy safe," Dumbledore said. My head snapped up. Prophecy?

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. What prophecy are we talking about?" I asked. Everyone turned to me. A few rolled their eyes, and a few muttered things I couldn't make out. Dumbledore simply nodded and cleared his throat.

"For those of you like Isabel who weren't listening, the prophecy is something very, very important. It tells of Harry Potter, and is very important. We believe that Voldemort is after it, and it is vital that he does not get it." I wondered if Professor Trelawney was the one to make this prophecy. She wasn't exactly the most reliable source. As everyone continued on with the meeting, my mind slipped back into Remus mode.

* * *

"Isabel!" Two voices from behind me shouted. I jumped and turned around to see Fred and George, standing there, grinning. I looked around me and realised the meeting was over. I couldn't believe I was that out of it that I missed the whole meeting.

"Don't do that!"

"Do what?" George asked, a smirk on his face.

"You know what I'm talking about. Has Molly complained about how annoying you two are since you became of age?"

"Of course she has," Fred said to me. "It's our mother, it'd be odd if she didn't complain..." Fred continued to talk, but I could see Remus looking at me from over Fred's shoulder. I saw him nod towards the front door. He wanted me to walk with him.

"Er, excuse me, Fred. George. I have something I forgot to do," I pushed my way pass the twins and walked towards the front door, where Remus was standing.

"Can we go for a walk? I think we need to have a bit more of a civilised talk...without Sirius around."

"Of course." Remus opened the door and let me out first. It was a beautiful night. The stars were shining and the air was fresh. Remus stood beside me and looked up at the sky.

"It's beautiful," I whispered.

"Come along," Remus said, walking down the stairs and onto the road.

* * *

Remus and I walked along the footpath silently; we were taking in each other's presence. We hadn't seen each other in over a year, it was odd to be in each other's company again. He was looking a little worse for wear...a lot shabbier than he was when he was teaching alongside me.

"I want to apologise," Remus said, continuing to walk. "I was horrible to you back there, and it wasn't fair. I guess that I was not exactly expecting to see you in the arms of my best friend."

"Stranger things have happened," I replied.

"How long have you and Sirius been together?"

"A couple of months now, although, I wasn't sure if I was in the mental state to be in a relationship with him when it first started."

"Why is that?" Remus asked, sitting down on a park bench under a tree. I sat down next to him and sighed.

"Because of you. You hurt me when you left, Remus."

"It was the best for you."

"Do you realise how different things could have been if you didn't leave? It might have been your arms I was in, not Sirius'. I was in a terrible state after you said goodbye, and then Sirius came along and made me happy." I pushed my jet black hair from my face and breathed in deeply. "Yet, somehow, I still feel somewhat guilty for being with him, because of us."

"The last year hasn't been easy for me, either. You were on my mind everyday, you know. Getting drunk off my arse didn't help, either. Made it a whole lot worse. Many pub owners probably know your name now from my ramblings about you." I laughed under my breath. It was such a Remus thing to do. Even though I was hurting right now, apart of me was happy that he was in my life again. "I missed you, Isabel. I missed you terribly."

"I missed you too," I replied, a small smile appearing on my face. That warm Remus smile also appeared, and I felt my stomach turn.

"You have to know that I haven't changed the way I feel about you," Remus said.

"Remus," I warned. I knew he still loved me, but I couldn't bare to hear it from him first hand.

"I still love you, and Sirius or no Sirius, that will never change."

"Remus, you can't. He's made me happy. I...I want to be with him," I said, but the voice in my head was second guessing me. _'It's Remus, Isabel. I get you love Sirius and all, but this is Remus Lupin. Don't lie to yourself. Your feelings have not changed.' _My heart only backed up what my head was saying to me. I still loved him, too. I pushed these feelings aside. Sirius. Sirius was who I loved. "I'm happy with Sirius."

"Then I might just have to fight for you."

* * *

**A/N: Remus is back! You guys happy, sad? What are you guys feeling at the moment? I was just too excited for this moment that I had to update as quickly as I possibly could!**

**And more good news, 11 reviews for last chapter! Thanks, guys! Hows about we attempt to get to 12 for this chapter?**

**LaFlorine - I think Molly last chapter was exactly how she would act, seeing as she would have wanted Isabel to be with one of her sons, she considers herself very close to Isabel and she wasn't happy with Sirius.**

**Just a reminder that I have opened a tumblr account for this story.  
****bellabellex. tumblr .com  
****Check it out!**

**Preview for next chapter:**

I sat in the dining room nervously, holding Sirius' hand tightly. Minerva was sitting next to me and Arthur sat next to Sirius. Tension was beginning to build up.

"You alright, love?" Sirius asked. I shook my head quickly.

"I feel sick," I replied.


	54. Don't Leave Like This

**Thanks To: ThoughtVortex, LaFlorine, DyingInWonderland, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, HPFan, StarlightDreamer16, alexis, Tessa & MissMysticFalls11**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Severus' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Sideways by Citizen Cope**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The hours ticked by. It went from being late at night, to early in the morning, but nothing changed. I was still wide awake, while Sirius slept soundly next to me. It was all because of one person...Remus. He never failed to make me confused. The events of last night just played over and over in my head. One minute, he was the angriest I had ever seen it. The next, he had that look in his eyes and that warm smile.

"Stop doing this to yourself," I whispered, holding my head, hoping my brain would get the message. I rubbed my eyes. I was so tired, but my brain wouldn't let me go to sleep. I wish I had a Sleeping Draught on me. That would be a plus about being at Spinner's End right now. Father always had those in store. I used up quite a few after Remus left. _'Look at you, all you're thinking about is Remus Lupin when Sirius Black is the one next to you right now.' _Ugh, my brain. I wished it wasn't there in situations like these. I got up out of bed. I couldn't stand it anymore. I walked down the creaky stairs and into the kitchen, where I was surprised to see Fred, eating a bowl of Molly's soup left over from last night.

"Fred," I said. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Three in the morning. I know." Fred grinned and pulled out the chair next to him. I sat down and looked at him, confused.

"If it's three in the morning, why are you awake?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Isabel. But I have a perfectly good excuse. I'm a night owl. I sleep about three hours a night. Everyone knows that...well...except you," Fred replied, a wink following afterwards. I laughed quietly and took the bread off his plate.

"Well," I said, breaking the bread apart. "It's a very long and complicated story."

"Remus Lupin," Fred said. I stopped breaking the bread apart and stared at him. How did he know? Fred laughed and shook his head. "You females...forever underestimating us. I could see you at dinner; trying not to look at each other, not looking away when you made eye contact. And then, I was the only one that saw you leave with him after that. Then you both returned, and you were all confused, and I knew." I took a bite out of the bread and chewed it slowly.

"You know more than you should," I told him.

"Why's it keeping you up?" I tried to remind myself why I was talking about this with Fred. Could I trust him to tell him the truth? I thought back to the Yule Ball, when he carried me back to my office. I definitely could rely on him...

"Sirius happens to be his best friend," I said bluntly. "If you didn't know that already..."

"Really? Wow. This just became super awkward."

"Tell me about it."

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, Isabel, because taking advice from me would be like taking advice from...I don't know, the biggest idiot on earth. Not that I'm an idiot...it's just you shouldn't take advice from me." I laughed and finished the last bit of bread that I had.

"Thanks, Fred," I said.

"You can go back to bed if you want."

"Are you silly? And leave you to sit here alone until people start to get up. Don't think so," I replied. So Fred and I sat there, talking, until dawn.

* * *

Lunchtime had arrived, and Molly had called all the Weasley's in except Arthur, who was at work, Hermione, Sirius and myself. Everyone, especially Ron, Hermione and Ginny were accepting of our relationship. Molly still glared at us from time to time, but we were getting used to that. Molly set the tray of sandwiches down on the table in front of us, and we all began to grab sandwiches off the tray. Ron, who always ate more than we did, 4 sandwiches to start with.

"So, how'd you go with Moony last night?" Sirius asked me quietly. I wasn't going to tell him what Remus said. It'd make him angry and I was sure there would be a brawl if I did.

"Fine. He calmed down. He was fine," I replied.

"Good. I thought he had gone a little...overboard...with his reaction."

"I didn't, I knew that was going to react like that. I know him to well." Sirius nodded, and I could tell something was wrong. I would say that he felt somewhat threatened that Remus was around. "Speaking of reactions, we need to stop lying to everyone. We've told the Order, we've told Remus...that just leaves..."

"Harry," Sirius interrupted. "It leaves Harry."

"No, Sirius. It leaves one more person. My father." Sirius froze, as did everyone else. I said that way too loudly. Sirius stared at me, but it was like his mind was somewhere else. "Sirius? Sirius? Come on, you've got to listen to me."

"I think you've just given him a bloody heart attack," Ron said.

"Oh, be quiet, Ronald," Hermione snapped back at him.

"Sirius?" I said.

"We've got to tell," Sirius said, before swallowing what seemed like a huge lump in his throat. "Him?"

"I'm sick of the lies towards him. He's my father, Sirius. My sisters and mother live in France. I can't lose him based on the lies I'm telling." Sirius took a bite out of his sandwich and rested it down on the plate in front of him. I looked over at Hermione nervously, who just smiled back.

"Alright," Sirius finally said. "But we'll need back up. Molly?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sirius. I don't support this relationship, so there will be no way that I am dragged into this!" Molly exclaimed. I rolled my eyes; Molly was still on about how she didn't accept us...she really needed to get over it. I wasn't even her daughter, I didn't understand why it meant to much to her.

"Fine," Sirius snapped at her. "We'll get Arthur. He'll be happy to do it. Any other suggestions, Isabel?" I had one idea. She'd be one of the only people Father listens to. Minerva.

* * *

I was scared at how he was going to take this. Sirius and I had been together for months and he hadn't figured it out, but I was still terrified. Father and Sirius hated each other, and if anything was going to be my downfall, this was it. I had told Father to come to Grimmauld Place; a public setting would be too risky. I had also told him it was just to discuss Order business. Thankfully, Minerva and Arthur both agreed to be back up. I sat in the dining room nervously, holding Sirius' hand tightly. Minerva was sitting next to me and Arthur sat next to Sirius. Every second, tension would build up even more.

"You alright, love?" Sirius asked. I shook my head quickly.

"I feel sick," I replied.

"It'll be alright, Isabel. If your father truly cares, he will only be happy that your happy," Minerva told me, patting my hand. It still didn't make me feel any better. I still wanted to turn my wand on myself. There was a loud thud, and Father came walking into the room.

"Where are the rest of the Order?" Father asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Severus, you might want to sit down," Arthur said. Father sat down slowly and looked at Sirius and I.

"What is the meaning of all of this?" He asked.

"Father, er, I'm not sure how to put this exactly," I began to say. How was I going to tell him?

"Out with it!" Father snapped. My breathing became shaky. This was a bad idea, but there was no backing out now. Father's dark eyes were intimidating, but I couldn't allow him to make me scared. This was my life, now. Not his. He didn't have a say in who I was in relationships with.

"Sirius and I are together," I mumbled. Father raised his eyebrows, and I could tell he didn't hear. I didn't want to have to say it again. My tips trembled, and I gripped Sirius' hand even tighter under the table.

"What did you say? Don't mumble," Father said. I took a deep breath in, but before I could open my mouth to say something, Sirius had beaten me to the chase.

"Your daughter and I are together," Sirius said, grinning. "We're sleeping in the same bed together, kissing each other, living with each other, shag-" I nudged Sirius roughly, signaling him to shut up. I turned to Minerva, worried for my life. I turned back to Father to see his eyes go even more darker than they are. His pale skin went as red as a tomato, and I knew I was screwed.

"You filthy dog!" Father growled, punching Sirius in the face. Arthur quickly stood up and ran to stop my father from doing anything else.

"Sirius!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my seat and kneeling on the floor next to him. "Are you alright, darling?" I asked, helping him up. Father's face was full of fury. I had never seen him like this. I was somewhat scared of Father. He had this look of hatred in his eyes when he looked at Sirius, and he had an expression of disappointment when he looked at me.

"Isabel, how could you choose to live your life with a dirty prisoner?" Father spat.

"I...dad...I can explain everything to you..."

"No, you have this obsession with him, you don't know what love is. Now we are going home and you are never to see Black again, am I understood?" I couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth. I simply shook my head and held onto Sirius.

"I am not a little girl anymore. I am a woman...I am an adult...and I can make my own decisions and I am sorry if my decision isn't good enough for you but it's good enough for me." Sirius' arm slipped around my waist and I gave him a small smile.

"You are making a big mistake, Isabel. You will be miserable with this moron. He will bring you and your career down, I am sure of it!" The anger from Father's eyes was gone. His eyes were more desperate than anything.

"She seems pretty happy to me, Snivellus!" Sirius snapped. Father turned to Sirius and drew his wand. Sirius did the same and pointed it at Father. I looked at Arthur, pleading with him to do something. Arthur stepped between them and raised his hands.

"Now, now. There is no need for this."

"Shut up, Weasley," Father told him. He waved his wand and Sirius was knocked backwards. Minerva covered her mouth in shock as she watched Sirius fall into the shelves behind us. I quickly took my wand out and pointed it at my father's.

"Expelliarmus!" Father's wand flew out of his hand and into mine. Father glared at me, his eyes full of disgust. "You, in the living room, now!" I said. I pushed past my Father and went to wait in the living room, hoping that he had followed me there.

* * *

"What were you doing in there?" I asked, my hands raised in the air. "You could have hurt him, or even hurt me." I went and sat down on the couch and ran my hand through my hair. "What's wrong with you?"

"He deserved it, Isabel. You are not to see that dog ever again, do you understand me?" Father spat, folding his arms, as if I would just submit to the authority in his voice.

"You need to stop saying that. I'm not going to stop seeing Sirius. I'm not going to move out. I am going to stay here and live with Sirius because that is what I am choosing. I can choose because I am old enough to make my own decisions. I'm not the eleven year old girl, anymore, Dad. He makes me happy, Father. Is that not all you should ask?" Father sat down on the seat next to me, staring at me. What was he searching for? Probably the part of me that lived in him; the part of me that was supposed to detest Sirius Black.

"I do not want you throwing your life away for him."

"And I'm not going to. It's not like I've thrown my job away at Hogwarts."

"I cannot support this, and I will never support this," Father said coldly, rising from his seat. "We shall not talk until this swine is out of your life. Even Lupin would have been a better choice than Sirius Black! He will ruin your life and you will have no one to blame but yourself. Goodbye, Isabel." Father began walking out of the room.

"Dad, wait." He didn't stop, he just kept on walking. I stood up and went after him. He couldn't do this. He couldn't just leave and not talk to me again.

"Father." No response.

"Dad." He had nearly reached the door.

"Daddy." He had his hand on the doorknob, but he stopped. He dropped his head and turned the doorknob.

"Daddy, please," I cried. "Please don't leave like this." It was too late. Father had walked down the steps of Grimmauld Place, then down the street, then he apparated away. I leaned against the doorway and wiped my tears. I had to be strong about this. Big girls didn't cry. A few moments later, I felt a hand on my shoulder. My head snapped up, and there was Remus.

"What's happened?" He asked. Before I could answer, Sirius came rushing out of the kitchen towards me, and wrapped his arms around me. It was a warm hug, something that usually I felt so comfortable in, but I could see Remus from over Sirius' shoulder. Seeing him watching Sirius and I didn't feel like I usually did; the warm feeling inside that just told me that I could be there forever and not move. It felt like I had betrayed someone.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, short chapter, I know, and I feel bad. I had a bit of trouble finishing it off, but you know, that happens sometimes. I promise I will make it up to you guys with a seriously long chapter soon! So, Remus is back, he knows. And now Severus knows!**

Another 10 reviews for last chapter! I'm so happy, guys. Let's aim for 12+ this chapter!  
And we're nearly past 350! 

**Next chapter sneak peek -  
**"Happy Birthday," he whispered, brushing his lips on mine. I felt guilty showing affection in front of Remus. I know how horrible it must be for him watching us; how much he knew that could've been him and not Sirius.

**Tumblr page for this story -  
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	55. Harry

**Thanks to: HPFan, LaFlorine, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, MissMysticFalls11, Julia & Tessa.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**The Friends Theme [See Profile]  
Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Profile]  
Born To Die by Lana Del Rey **_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.  
**

* * *

It was odd. Not long ago I was sitting at school in an office, marking essays and such. Now, here I was, August 2nd, lying in my bed at Grimmauld Place, surrounded by Fred, George, Bill, Tonks, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Molly, Arthur, Remus and Sirius; each of them holding a gift in their hands. I always enjoyed my birthday. I wasn't one of those people to mope and cry about getting older. Birthdays were to celebrate the day you were born, and each birthday you became wiser. I had nothing to complain about there.

"Happy Birthday!" They all shouted as I sat up. I smiled as Sirius passed me a small black box.

"Happy Birthday," he whispered, brushing his lips on mine. I felt guilty showing affection in front of Remus. I know how horrible it must be for him watching us; how much he knew that could've been him and not Sirius. I opened the black box and gasped. Sitting on a black velvety material, was a diamond bracelet. They weren't fake diamonds. They were real. Ginny, Hermione and Tonks all pushed in front of the boys to get a look at it.

"It's beautiful," Ginny sighed. "You are so lucky, Isabel." I turned to Sirius and beamed.

"It's simply breathtaking, Sirius. Thank you."

"Anything for you," Sirius replied. I could see Molly roll her eyes out of the corner of my eye, but this was my birthday. She wasn't allowed to ruin it with any stupid remarks about Sirius. I set the diamond bracelet on the bedside table next to me, and was given a present from Hermione.

"Hermione, you didn't have to," I said.

"I wanted to, Professor." I smiled at Hermione and shook my head.

"You don't have to call me that, Hermione. It's Isabel, remember?" Hermione laughed and sat on the bed next to me.

"Of course, Isabel." I opened Hermione's present to see a book on famous Potioneers. Only Hermione would have bought something like this for me.

"Thank you, Hermione. I'll really enjoy this," I said before hugging her. We then continued on with the presents, Molly gave me a hand knitted scarf, Ron gave me a hand knitted jumper, Ginny gave me a quilt, Arthur gave me knitted gloves and Bill gave me a beanie. It was obvious that Molly had made all of these things. Fred and George then gave me a card which read _'Your present will come later. Happy 20th Birthday to an amazing person that we couldn't live without. Fred and George.'_ I hugged each one of the Weasley's, but was cautious when hugging Fred and George. They had something up their sleeve. I just knew it.

"My turn!" Tonks shouted. "This is from Mum, Dad and myself. We all chipped in." Tonks handed me a black box, similar to Sirius', but it was a little bigger. I opened the box and my lips curled up into a smile. I couldn't believe this. A necklace that matched the bracelet from Sirius.

"You co-ordinated, didn't you?" I looked between Tonks and Sirius, and they both nodded quickly. "It's beautiful, Tonks, thank you."

"Last one," Remus said. "I think it's a pretty pathetic present on my part, but I had no idea what else to get you." Remus passed me the brown box with a gold ribbon wrapped around it. I didn't care what the present was; I was just glad that I was receiving a present, and that Remus was back in my life. I removed the ribbon from around the box and took the lid off carefully. I peered into the box to see a quill, a bottle of ink and some parchment. It was just what I needed; something simple.

"Thank you, Remus. It's wonderful."

"I didn't have a lot of money to spend," Remus mumbled. I rolled my eyes; it was always about money with him. When was he going to get it through his head that the last thing I was interested in was money?

"Remus, I don't care about how much you spent on it. It's perfect. Thank you." Remus flashed his warm smile, and my insides melted. _'He's making you feel all gooey inside, Isabel. Don't you think this is a sign?' _I ignored the thought in my head. Now wasn't the time for confusion over Sirius and Remus. Now was the time for me to enjoy my birthday.

"These arrived earlier by owl, too," Arthur said, placing another two gifts, with accompanying envelopes. I picked up the first, and bigger envelope, opened it and started to read.

**_Dear Isabel,_**

**___Happy 20th Birthday. We are so proud of the woman that you're growing into. Gabrielle and Fleur said they were so lucky to spend most of the year with you, and told stories of how amazing you had become. You are an inspiration to all around you, and your light will only shine brighter as you get older._**

**_We love you dearly, and hope to see you again soon.  
__Love always,_**

**___Mother, Fleur and Gabrielle._**

"Who's that from?" Bill asked.

"My mother, and my sisters Fleur and Gabrielle," I replied happily.

"Fleur Delacour?" Bill enquired, a tone of nervousness in his voice. Why was he asking about my younger sister. It was weird. We'd talked about her once before, and I didn't think she ever needed to be brought up again.

"Yes...why?"

"No reason," Bill said quickly, almost cutting me off. I eyed him suspiciously for a few moments before moving onto my gift from Mother. Sitting in the wrapping, was a small silver music box. I listened as it played the songs my mother used to sing to me. It was such a sweet and thoughtful present. It made me miss Mother even more. I passed the music box to Ginny, who inspected it with Hermione. I then picked up the second, smaller envelope.

**_Isabel,_**

**_Enjoy your twentieth birthday. I apologise for not being there, but I stand by my word. I will not be talking to you directly until Sirius Black is out of your life. I hope this is soon, because I can not stand ignoring you. I hope you like your gift. _**

**_Father. _**

The letter hurt. He was supposed to be here, helping me celebrate. Instead, he was at home, not wanting to talk to me because of the people I chose to have in my life. I opened the gift that came along with the letter, to see more letters. However, they we're in my mother's writing. I picked up one of the letters and scanned it quickly. This letter was about me. I looked at another one, and that one was about me too.

**_Severus,_**

**_Isabel walked for the first time today. It was simply magical. She smiled, stood up and walked right into my arms. Everyday she becomes more beautiful. She's on the way to being the stunning girl that I knew she would be. _**

**_I'm excited for the day you get to meet her again. _**

**_Apolline._**

These letters were about my childhood, each one describing a milestone in my life. Letters about every birthday he missed, my first time crawling, loosing my first tooth; everything was described in these letters. One letter in particular caught my eye, though.

**_Severus,_**

**_I do not have long, as Louis is quite angry at the moment. Meet me tomorrow at Diagon Alley at 10 in the morning. I do not have much time to explain, but Isabel got her letter to Hogwarts. Louis has found out that Isabel is yours and not his. She has kicked her out of the house. I do not want to see my own daughter kicked out, but I think it'd be wise if she came to live with you. Please, please just take her in._**

**_Apolline._**

"What are they?" Hermione asked when I put the piece of parchment on top of the small pile I made.

"Letters that my mother had sent my father. They're all about me." I was confused as to why Father had chosen to give me these letters. He was a private man, why would he be sharing his private things with me? I wished he was here so I could ask him myself.

* * *

That night, Molly had cooked up a storm. We were all going to enjoy a huge feast, as well as a very big cake. It was incredible to see the effort Molly had went to for me. I didn't think I was that deserving.

"Molly, this is lovely, but you didn't have to," I said.

"Don't be ridiculous. It is your birthday and you deserve to be spoiled. Now all of you, start! Help yourselves! The food is there to be eaten, not looked at!" I laughed quietly and began to put large helpings of food onto my plate. I looked over at Ron to see him stuffing his face with food, much to Hermione's disgust.

"Ron, don't think you could slow down there, mate?" Fred said to him, smirking.

"Shut up, Fred," Ron replied, his mouth full of food.

"You must make quite an impression on the ladies," George told him. Ron ignored him completely, continuing to eat. There was a knock at the door, then we all heard the door slam shut. Footsteps came towards the dining room, but almost everyone continued to eat, like no one was even there.

"Kingsley," Arthur said, surprised. We all turned to the doorway to see the tall, dark wizard that was Kinglsey Shacklebolt walk into the room. There was no Order meeting on today. Why would he even be here? It wasn't that I wasn't welcoming to him; Kingsley was great. It just surprised me that he was here, at Grimmauld Place, on my birthday.

"What's happening here?" Kingsley asked, looking at the cake, and all the food on the table.

"It's Isabel's birthday," Ginny told him.

"Oh," Kingsley said, turning to me. "Happy Birthday, Isabel."

"Thank you, Kingsley. Now, what is it you need?"

"Something's happened..."

"To who?" Remus asked.

"Harry." I saw the colour in Sirius' face drain at the name.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked.

"He was attacked by dementors; him and his cousin. He used the Patronus Charm to fight them off, however the Ministry has expelled him from Hogwarts for the use of underage sorcery and use of magic in the presence of a muggle."

"But that's just so wrong. They can't expel students from Hogwarts; especially if they needed to use magic in a life threatening situation!" I exclaimed.

"Isabel, remember what we've been saying in the meetings about Fudge?" Sirius asked. I nodded, remembering Dumbledore's words about the Minister for Magic, and how he told us that he had been conspiring against him and Harry; saying he is a liar and Voldemort wasn't back. "Fudge is obviously going to use this against Harry and Dumbledore."

"Someone needs to write or contact Harry or something!" Arthur said. "He'll need reassurance, and he has to stay there!" Everyone seemed to split up at that exact same moment, and I was left sitting at the table, my birthday cake in front of me, with only Fred and George to keep me company.

* * *

Days went by, and now we were all eagerly awaiting Harry's arrival. I sat in between Sirius and my father. There was a lot of tension between the two. Everyone else in the room could see it. Molly glanced at me occasionally to see how I was holding up. Sirius and I were holding hands under the table, and it made me feel comfortable knowing that he was there with me.

"I still think we should inform Harry of what is happening! He has the right to know!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Sirius, how many times must I keep telling you that he's just a boy!" Molly spat back.

"Oh, Molly, he might be just a boy in age but his maturity level is beyond that," Sirius retorted rudely. I lightly touched Sirius' arm so he would calm down.

"Sirius..." I said softly. Obviously, Molly was still not very keen on my relationship with Sirius. We all looked up when we heard the sound of a door closing, but Sirius completely ignored it and continued speaking. The other Order members, including Remus and Tonks, piled into the room. Remus sat opposite me, and I shifted uncomfortably in my chair.

"Look, the longer we wait the stronger he gets, we have to act now!" Sirius looked to the doorway and went silent. I turned to the doorway to see Harry standing there. He had a small smile on his face at the sight of Sirius. Before they could say anything to each other, Molly rushed over to Harry and shut the door behind her. Sirius cleared his throat and turned back to everyone else. "We also need to tell Harry, as I have said, a thousand times."

"Why do we need to tell Harry?" Bill asked. "Wouldn't it be wise to leave him out of it? He's underage, all he should be worrying about at the moment is school, not how to defeat Voldemort."

"They won't have a school if we don't do something about it!" Sirius spat.

"Sirius, calm down," I whispered to him. "You're being ridiculous."

"Is everyone against me on this?" Sirius said.

"On what?" Molly asked, walking back into the room.

"I believe we should tell Harry about the prophecy," Sirius told her.

"Absolutely not!" Molly exclaimed. "He's just a boy! He's too young!"

"Harry has been through a lot more than any of us could ever think of! I am sure he'll have the capability to handle it," Sirius said.

"No! Definitely not! I will not allow it!"

"He's not your son, Molly," Sirius snapped. I rolled my eyes. Here we go again. Over the past few days, this argument went on and on and on. They both couldn't except the role the other played in Harry's life. They needed to learn to work together.

"Sirius..." I warned. I was sick to death of Molly and Sirius fighting.

"He's as good as," Molly retorted. "Who else has he got?"

"He's got me," Sirius spat. I sighed and sat back in my seat. I had given up at trying to stop both of them fighting. Remus gave me an apologetic smile, but I tried to ignore it. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of Remus.

"How touching Black, maybe Potter will grow up to be a a felon just like his godfather," Father said.

"Shut up, Snivellus," Sirius spat back. "And I don't care what Dumbledore says about your supposed reformation. I know better."

"Why don't you tell him? Or are you afraid he won't take serious the word of a man hiding in his mother's house?"

"Both of you, stop it!" I said sternly, "you are acting like children!" I shook my head at both of them. You'd think at a time like this they would grow up and show some maturity. "Now is not the time to be fighting on some silly schoolboy rivalry! We need to be focusing on what we can do to help Harry and also get through this thing! Now grow up and stop acting like kids!" Father took no notice of what I said. He didn't even look at me. Despite that, Sirius nodded and took my hand.

"Sorry," he said.

"Good. Now can we get on with the meeting, please!" The other Order members seemed thankful that I had stepped in, some even mouthing words of gratitude to me.

"Thank you, Isabel," Moody said to me. "Personally I think Harry should be told what is happening, and get him up to speed; just not be told the specific details."

"Thank you, Alastor. Someone who is sane," Sirius said, giving him a nod. I decided to shut myself out from everyone else and began to ignore all the talking that was happening, because I knew another fight was going to come up eventually.

* * *

There were footsteps coming down the stairs, and Sirius took my hand.

"Are you ready to tell Harry?" He asked. I nodded, but I was unsure. I was a little nervous about how Harry was going to react. However, I knew that it'd be a lot better than how Remus and Father reacted. All of a sudden, we all heard a loud screeching noise that even made Sirius jump. He rolled his eyes and sighed, walking off to where the sound had come from...Walburga Black's painting.

"_Filth! Scum! Bi-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks! Begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers!" _The painting shrieked. Sirius, Remus and I seized the curtains on either side of the painting and forced them closed, the woman's screams coming to an end. Sirius, Remus and I turned to Harry, who stood there, stunned.

"Harry, I see you've met my mother," Sirius said darkly.

"Your mother?"

"Yes, my dear old mother. This was the house I grew up in, Harry. The damn woman put a permanent sticking charm on the back of the painting. Quite annoying, really. Now, enough of that," Sirius held out his arms. In a blink of an eye_, _Harry was in his arms, hugging him tightly. I stood behind both of them, smiling. It was nice to see Harry smiling after what he went through with Cedric and You-Know-Who.

"Harry, could we talk in private?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded as Sirius looked over to me and half smiled. Harry, Sirius and I walked into a room and sat down.

"Why is Isabel here?" Harry asked, a confused look on his face.

"Harry, we have something to tell you," Sirius said. "Harry, Isabel and I are together."

"What? Are you joking or - ?" I wasn't sure what Harry was thinking, and it worried me.

"Yes, Harry," Sirius said, "I hope that you are okay with it." Harry was quiet. A little too quiet. His eyes told both of us nothing, and neither did his facial expression. Sirius glanced over at me and raised his eyebrows.

"Harry?" I said softly. "Harry, please say something. You're worrying me."

"I'm sorry that I'm not saying anything," Harry replied. "It's just a bit of a shock. When did this happen?"

"Last year, during the Tri Wizard Tournament. Dumbledore gave Isabel the job to keep an eye on me. She gave me updates on your progress, and she helped me out quite a bit. It just happened from there."

"You didn't tell me? Harry asked.

"Harry, I couldn't tell anyone. It was too dangerous for Sirius. I'm so sorry for not telling you," I told him. Harry played with the palms of his hands and didn't look up. Was this a sign that he was unhappy? He then looked up at Sirius and I, his eyes full of uncertainty. "Harry? Harry, please say something."

"It's not that I'm not happy for you and Sirius, because I am. It's great that you two have found each other. It's just..."

"Just what?" Sirius said. I wasn't expecting Harry to be so quiet, but if he didn't want this to happen, I would gladly step aside. Harry's needs came before mine, and Sirius was the only family he had left. I wasn't going to be selfish. Sirius didn't belong to me.

"It's just, you'd be risking everything, Isabel. I just don't want to see either of you get hurt because of this," Harry said. I laughed and hugged Harry tightly.

"Oh, Harry, you wonderful boy. You won't have to worry about that. Sirius and I will be able to handle it if things don't go as planned," I said to him. Harry smiled as I released him from my arms. "The only thing you'll have to worry about is the hearing. And speaking of, I think you behaved admirably in the situation." I thought back to when Harry told me about how much he despised his aunt, uncle and cousin. The fact that Harry saved his cousin's life, knowing there would be consequences, was just incredible.

"I don't want to be expelled, Sirius," Harry said, standing up. Sirius and I stood up straight after him, and Sirius placed his hands on Harry's shoulders.

"You won't be expelled, Harry. Dumbledore will make sure of that."

* * *

It was hectic in the kitchen on the morning of the hearing. Everyone was rushing about, making sure Harry did this and Harry did that. I felt sorry for him, because if it were me, I would've blown my lid by now. I made a pact with myself that I would leave Harry to his thoughts for the morning. There were so many people bombarding him with things he had to say and do...he didn't need an extra one. Harry had been filled in last night about what was happening with the Order, You-Know-Who and the like, and of course, Molly and Sirius had to continue their insufferable bickering. I could hear Tonks going on about some woman named Amelia Bones, then Sirius said something, then Remus. I had tuned out five minutes after Harry got out of bed.

"I think we'll go now," I heard Arthur say. That was my cue to say something.

"Good luck," I said to Harry, smiling at him. "You'll be right." Then came the 'good luck's' from everyone else, and Harry left the house.

"How d'you think he'll go?" Ron asked.

"No idea," Remus replied.

"Dumbledore will sort it out," Sirius said.

"What if he doesn't?" Ron said, starting to panic for his best friend. I put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"Dumbledore will do all in his power, Ron. Remember, it's Dumbledore of all people. We have to think positively about this," I told him. Ron shrugged his shoulders, calmer than he was a few seconds ago. He picked up a piece of bread and shoved it into his mouth. The old, normal Ron had returned. I looked over at Remus, who had that warm smile lighting up his face. I let out a long breath that resembled a sigh. Why did he continue to do this to me?

* * *

"So, Harry, how'd it go?" Ron asked. I held my breath, waiting for Harry to tell us the outcome.

"I won," he replied with a beaming smile. I stood up and hugged Harry, overjoyed at the result. "Dumbledore was to thank." Of course, Dumbledore always came through when it came to this stuff.

"Congratulations, Harry," I told him. Ron punched the air, and Ginny, Fred and George began a chant.

"HE GOT OFF!" They chanted in unison.

"Settle down!" Arthur yelled at them, before turning to Sirius. "Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the ministry." I stopped what I was doing at that very moment; it was like I had turned to stone. I saw Remus from the corner of my eye, looking at me, concerned. I rose from my seat at the table and walked out of the room quickly. Someone had followed me from the table, too, as I could hear footsteps following me. I marched into the living room and fell on the couch in front of me.

"Isabel," Remus said, walking in the room after me and coming to my aid quickly. "Isabel, are you alright?" I shook my head quickly.

"I thought I didn't have to feel this way when I heard his name...knowing what he is...what he did. I thought that filthy Death Eater would be out of my life and out of my head." Remus pursed his lips and put one arm around me, helping me to sit up.

"Does Sirius know?" Remus asked.

"He does, but not as much as you do. Remus, they only said his name and look what it's done to me! That's it, I'm positive that I'm a nutter!"

"You are not a nutter, Isabel. You're just frightened and you have a good reason to be! He could be doing anything at the Ministry and it's nothing to take lightly."

"You don't think I'm overreacting?" I asked.

"Not in the slightest." My lips curled up into a small smile as I leaned my head on Remus' shoulder. I closed my eyes, remembering the last time I was this close to him. I was willing to forgive Remus for his actions if he would comfort me like this in the tough times.

"I probably said this earlier, but I missed you terribly," I said softly.

"I missed you too," he whispered in return, placing a kiss on my head. I was utterly confused about what was happening. A feeling inside me grew, telling me that this was right. Yet, another feeling in my body told me this was completely wrong, and Sirius was the one who should be kissing me on the head. Remus sighed loudly, his breath hanging in the silence. My eyes opened, and I caught a glimpse of a very bewildered Sirius.

* * *

**A/N: Ah, so here we have it. A love triangle, something that many of you have been requested. So, my question to you is, Team Remus or Team Sirius?**

**I'm kind of disappointed with my writing for this chapter. I don't seem to be describing things very well lately. My brain is in holiday mode, so you'll have to forgive me.**

**We're now over 350 reviews! Here's a fact for you, 300 review milestone was at chapter 49, so it's taken 5 chapters to get 50 reviews, which is just awesome. Let's bring up the 400 within another 5 chapters! ****So, can we get to 10 reviews for this chapter?**

**What's coming next chapter -  
**_Isabel returns to Hogwarts with the other teaches and meets Dolores Umbridge. Poppy, Pormona, Minerva, Flitwick and Isabel are all not impressed._

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I'll be posting a few spoilers soon about upcoming chapters, and names of future chapters that are extremely important to the story. The only wa you'll see them is at the tumblr page so check them out!**


	56. Back Again

**Thanks to: LaFlorine, DyingInWonderland, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, toneale'anncurtis, MissMysticFalls11, alexis, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, HPFan & Tessa.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Keep Running by Gemma Hayes**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All characters (except Isabel Snape) belong to Queen Rowling herself.**

* * *

I released myself from Remus' grip and ran after Sirius right away. I knew as soon as Remus came back that something such as this was going to happen. I searched the kitchen, drawing room, dining room and study for Sirius, and realised that the only place I was going to find him was our bedroom. I walked up the stairs slowly and opened the door to our room. Sirius sat on the chair next to our bed, staring at the floor.

"Sirius..."

"Isabel," he replied, glancing up at me. I sat down on the bed opposite him and put my hand on his.

"Sirius, that in there...it wasn't what it seemed. And I know people say that all the time but it really wasn't. He was just comforting me." I knew it wasn't much consolation for Sirius, but it was the truth.

"You two have history together, I understand," he told me. For the first time since I entered the room, he looked at me in the eyes, and even cracked a smile. The smile was forced, though; like a pained smile. "I just don't want to have to see that when I walk in a room." _'You shouldn't have to.' _I wished I had said that out loud instead of keeping it in my head, but it was too late. The room was silent, and it seemed he just wanted to drop the issue.

* * *

The day had come where I was to return to Hogwarts. The holidays had gone so quickly. I was frightened that I had not made the most of it. I packed most of my clothes away in my trunk neatly, making sure that nothing was out of place. I picked up a bunch of books and placed them in my trunk. They were definitely needed. Last to go in the trunk were my photos. One of Tonks, Bill, Charlie and I and one of Father and I. The one of Father and I hurt a little to look at. They were happier times. Everything had changed since then. I just found out he was working undercover for Dumbledore as a spy within the Death Eaters and now he didn't want to talk to me because I was with Sirius. I sighed and put the photo in my trunk, then locked it up.

"Need help with your trunk?" I nodded at the sound of Remus' voice, and seconds later he appeared next to me.

"Thanks," I said.

"You're upset with me. I can see it; I know you too well, Isabel." I bit my lip, not wanting to speak to him about the situation from the other night. I thought he had forgotten about it, since we hadn't spoken about it. Well, that's what I was hoping for.

"Remus, can we just forget about it?"

"No, we cannot just forget about it. And why should you be ashamed of it? You were sad, and I was comforting you like a good _friend _should do when their friend is sad. I'm sorry for caring," he said.

"Remus..."

"I've made it perfectly clear where I stand with you, but you cannot have the common courtesy to do the same with me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the smallest bit hurt."

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

"Just tell me straight up, Isabel. Where do you stand with me?"

"I don't know. I cannot answer you honestly because I have no idea where I stand." I could only answer honestly. Lying wasn't an option anymore. I lied to my own father and look where that got me. It saddened me that I didn't know where I stood with him. I was head over heels for Sirius; but Remus...Remus managed to stir up something in me. "I need to go, Remus." I took my wand off the table and pointed it at the trunk.

"Locomotor Trunk." The trunk lifted into the air.

"So that's it? You just don't know..."

"I don't know what else I can tell you. I don't want to lie to you; it's the truth. I have no idea what we are at the moment and I have no idea what I feel. I'll have time to think about it while at Hogwarts; and I'll make sure I'll write to you."

"I'll miss you," he said softly, the warm smile on his face appearing and instantly melting my insides.

"I'll miss you too," I replied. "And make sure you're here when I get back." I smiled and waved my wand, moving the trunk downstairs. "Goodbye, Remus." I walked out of the room, leaving Remus in my wake. I trudged down the stairs and beamed at the sight of Sirius, Molly, Arthur, Tonks, Bill, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny standing in front of the doorway.

"We thought you needed a good send off," Tonks said to me.

"Thank you." I hugged Tonks tightly. She always gave me the best hugs; it was definitely one of the pros of being her best friend.

"Save some for the rest of us, _Nymphadora_," Sirius teased. Tonks released me from her grip and shot daggers at Sirius; her hair turning a bright red.

"Don't call me - "

"Nymphadora, yeah, yeah. Andie named you that for a reason, you know. Seems a shame that you're embarrassed my a name that your mother chose for you."

"Andie?" I looked at Sirius, a little confused. I knew he was talking about Andromeda, but Andie? Was that a nickname I didn't know about?

"That's what I used to call Andromeda. Bellatrix and Narcissa despised the nickname Andie. They called her Dromeda, how is that a nickname? Anyhow, I called her Andie to piss of Bellatrix and Narcissa. Thankfully it worked." I rolled my eyes playfully and giggled. Only Sirius would do something like that. I received hugs from Molly, Arthur, Ginny, Bill, Harry, Ron, Hermione, George, and finally, Fred.

"We'll be seeing you soon, then," Fred told me.

"Hopefully this new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher isn't too hard to work with this year."

"So you didn't get the senior position?" Bill asked. I shook my head, a grim expression on my face.

"Dumbledore hasn't told me anything about this year and what I'll be doing, so I suppose not. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I thought I was ready." I sighed, my gaze turning to the floor. I wondered when Dumbledore thought I was going to be ready. Was this all just a waste of time?

"Well," Sirius said, tilting my chin up. "I think you will become the greatest Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher of all time and Dumbledore is the one missing out." Molly coughed, and everyone then walked into the living room, leaving Sirius and I by ourselves. "I only wish you didn't have to go so soon. I'll miss you terribly."

"I'll miss you too. But you know that I have to go, as much as I adore you."

"Don't go making any new male friends, Miss. Snape."

"Me? Male friends? Don't be ridiculous, Sirius."

"I will miss you, though."

"As you've said already," I smirked, continuing to tease him. Sirius brushed his lips against mine in the most tender manner. My hands ran up his chest to his shoulders, then interlocked behind his neck. I hoped Remus wasn't standing on the stairs watching us. _'Why are you thinking about Remus? You're kissing Sirius! You've got to make your mind up about which one you want.' _I coughed, and Sirius pulled back.

"Is something wrong?"

"No," I lied, shaking my head. "Not at all. It's just, I really have to go. I don't want Dumbledore getting angry with me, now do I?"

"How are you getting there?"

"Apparating to Hogsmeade, then taking a carriage up to the castle. Is that all you're taking?"

"Yes...well, I have other possessions at Hogwarts. I didn't bother bringing them home."

"And you're sure everything's alright?"

"Positive." I kissed Sirius quickly one more time. I stepped back and turned to my trunk, waving my wand at it. "Reducio." My trunk and everything inside shrunk at once so I'd be able to transport it quickly. It had been shrunk to a size easy for me to carry around; like a bag.

"Goodbye, then," he said, looking very sad.

"Au Revoir, my darling," I replied, blowing a kiss to Sirius, smirking. I knew how much he couldn't resist me speaking French. I stepped out of the door and walked down the street. After checking that there were no muggles around, I disapparated away.

* * *

I had apparated into a very busy Hogsmeade. I breathed in the fresh air. It was nice to have clean air for a change; rather than the stale air at Grimmauld Place. I walked over to the black carriage near the end of the main street, a thestral in front, ready to pull it. I shut eyes, remembering my Grandmother's death. It wasn't exactly a painful death for her, but it was painful for Mother, Fleur and I to witness it. I opened my eyes and climbed into the carriage. Seconds later, it was off. I was on my way back to Hogwarts. We passed the beautiful scenery; the lake, the trees. Even the Forbidden Forest looked beautiful in the daylight. It seemed as if nothing had changed at Hogwarts. Everything was about to change, though. You-Know-Who had returned. Things were going to be different.

Soon, the carriage came to a halt. I stepped out of the carriage to find myself at the front of Hogwarts, outside the Vidaduct Courtyard. I put my trunk on the ground and aimed my wand at it.

"Engorgio." My trunk and it's contents returned to normal size. I looked up at the huge castle with mixed feelings. I loved this place. This was and always will be my home; but a part of me didn't want to be here. A part of me wanted to be back at Grimmauld Place.

"Isabel!" Minerva called from the stairs to the Entrance Hall. "Isabel you're here!" She rushed down and put her arms around me.

"So good to see you, dear."

"It hasn't been that long, Minerva," I laughed, hugging her back. Minerva was as friendly as ever towards me, even if she wasn't one of the biggest fans of Sirius and I. Minerva waved my her wand to send my trunk inside. After all this time, she still didn't trust me with getting my own trunk to my office. "Now, Minerva, is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher here?" Minerva's expression completely changed. Her smile had changed to a hard, dour, humourless face.

"What? What is it?"

"She's here," Minerva told me, nodding. "You aren't going to like it." Great. Couldn't we just get Remus back?

"I shall head to the Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers office, then. I need to acquaint myself with this woman." I left Minerva to go and see this woman, but I didn't have my hopes up. If what Minerva was saying was true, then I was in for a terrible year.

* * *

I inhaled deeply, gathering all the courage I could to enter this door. It didn't sound very promising. I knocked on the door and heard a weird sounding cough come from inside.

"Enter." The voice wasn't very promising either. I opened the door and walked inside to see a woman that looked like a toad. She had a very wide, plump face, and a small neck. At first look, I couldn't see a neck at all. I then took a look at this office. What the hell had she done to the place? Everything was pink and there were cats on the wall!

"Miss. Snape," the toad face woman said, signaling me to come closer and sit on the other side of the desk. I approached her with extreme caution. Her high pitched voice frightened me a little. It wasn't normal. "I am so pleased to finally meet you, dear. My name is Dolores Umbridge." She giggled after telling me her name. I didn't know if this woman could get anymore strange. Nevertheless, I wanted to make a good first impression.

"Pleased to meet you too, Professor Umbridge."

"Oh please, dear, call me Dolores. We will be working together all year, after all." She smiled, and it seemed to match her toad like face perfectly.

"Right, well, um, Dolores." I found it unusual to be calling her by her first name. "Have you got what the students will be learning all sorted out?"

"Of course, dear. I have the new, Ministry approved text and course for this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts students." Umbridge passed me a book titled _Defensive Magical Theory. _I opened it and was surprised to see there was nothing about using magic in the book.

"Dolores, there's nothing about using magic in this book."

"Why would the children need to use magic, my dear? They're going to learn about magic in a risk free environment." I could think of a thousand reasons that the students needed to use magic, but then thought of what she had said earlier.

"Ministry, did you say?"

"Yes, my dear. I work for the Ministry, for Cornelius Fudge himself. We've decided this was the best way to teach the students. Do you object to this?" The smile was wiped off her face, and it made me nervous. I coughed, but didn't dare say that I objected. She was, after all, from the Ministry. I'd get myself into a spot of bother with her if I were to disagree.

"No, I don't object, Dolores," I told her, feeling like a coward.

"Lovely. I have the feeling you and I will become great friends by the end of the year, Miss. Snape," Umbridge said, the smile reappearing.

"I should be going then, Dolores. I have to start unpacking things in my office."

"Which is where, may I ask. You know, just incase I'd like to visit you?"

"In the dungeons..."

"Lovely. Now, before you go, take this." She handed me a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory _and smiled. I looked down at the book with disdain, then looked back up at Umbridge.

"Why are you giving me this?" I asked.

"Just to inform you about what the children will be learning about this year. Who knows?" Her smile turned into a dark smirk. "You may just learn a thing or two from it." I could tell she meant that in the nastiest way possible. I clenched my fist, attempting to keep composed. It was not a time to pull out my wand and hex her out of this office.

"I got Outstanding's at the end of every year for Defence Against the Dark Arts. I think I know what I am doing, and what I am capable of doing," I told her.

"Of course, dear. I believe you." I took the book off the table and turned my back to her, leaving her office as quickly as I could. I ran down the stairs that led to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, took out my wand and pointed it at a row of jars.

"Confringo!" Each jar exploded quickly. I watched as the shattered glass fell to the floor. I sat at a desk behind me, trying to control my anger. How dare she imply that I wasn't good enough for this job, and I needed to learn more. I probably knew a lot more than she did.

"Evanesco," I said quietly, waving my wand at the shattered glass. A few moments later, the glass had disappeared. I rubbed my forehead, wishing Sirius was here.

* * *

I left the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and headed straight for Minerva's office. I needed to tell her everything that Umbridge had said to me. There was one thing that we all needed to be careful about, though. She was from the Ministry, which meant they were interfering at Hogwarts, which meant none of us teachers were safe. I reached Minerva's office, and to my surprise, Filius, Poppy and Pormona were all standing inside, with Minerva.

"Oh, Isabel!" Minerva said. "You met her, I'm guessing?" She could tell that I was extremely angry.

"I walked out of that office and blasted a heap of jars to bits. She told me that I needed to brush up on my Defence Against the Dark Arts skills. I already hate her."

"You're not the only one," Filius said.

"How d'you mean?" I asked him.

"She was most horrible to me when I first met her. I sat in my office and cried for a little bit after our first encounter." I knelt down and pat Filius on the back, as he was getting emotional. He was quite the emotional fellow, Filius Flitwick, but that was one of the things I enjoyed about him most.

"What about you three?" I asked Poppy, Pormona and Minerva.

"Horrible woman," Poppy said.

"Nasty, vile, foul, loathsome, awful...there are too many words," Pormona said.

"So she's from the Ministry? Does that mean...?"

"Yes, Isabel," Minerva said, cutting me off. "The Ministry are in fact interfering at Hogwarts, which means all of our jobs are not safe."

"Can't Dumbledore do something about this?" Filius asked Minerva. Minerva shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, Filius. This is a Ministry matter, something out of Albus' hands. You've heard what the Ministry are saying about Albus and Harry, anyway. They don't trust either of them. Of course they'd put someone at Hogwarts to keep an eye on them."

"I say we take her wand away from her and lock her up. I volunteer my office!" I said. Pormona, Filius, Poppy and Minerva's stern gazes turned towards me. I threw my hands up in surrender.

"Sorry, sorry. Joking...or was I?"

"Isabel, stop the jokes," Minerva said.

"It's a fairly good suggestion," Filius laughed.

"Thank you, Filius. Seriously, though, we need to sort this woman out. We cannot let her come in here and make us fear her like this!" I said.

"It's too late, Isabel. We're going to have to put up with her, and if you want to keep your job especially, I'd just stay quiet." I sighed and folded my arms. Minerva was right. My job was at risk the most. I just hope that maybe she'd become bearable to work with.

"Where is Severus? I thought he'd want to discuss this matter, too," Poppy said.

"It seems that Severus is a little preoccupied at the moment. I told him to come, but he told me he was quite busy," Minerva said, glancing at me.

"Well, speaking of busy, I should be getting back to my preparations," Filius said. He nodded at the three of us before leaving the room. Poppy and Pormona did the same, leaving Minerva and I on our own.

"How are you holding up? Has Severus talked to you yet?"

"No," I replied. "He sent me a gift on my birthday, which was nearly a month ago now. Apart from that I've had no contact with him." Minerva sighed and patted my shoulder.

"He'll come around."

* * *

The students had arrived, and the feast had begun. I waved at Ginny, Fred, George, Hermione, Ron and Harry as they entered the hall, and Harry seemed a little glum. I was sure that he wanted to be at Grimmauld Place with Sirius as well. Dumbledore started to read out the little notices for this year, and started talking about the Gryffindor Quidditch team, when he was interrupted.

"Hem-Hem!" Umbridge stood up. Minerva and I looked at each other and raised our eyebrows. Even Father wanted to know what she was doing. "Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome. It is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such little happy faces looking up at me. I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!" I almost choked on the food I was eating. Was this woman serious? She was addressing the students like they were a bunch of toddlers! "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of a vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this...historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and prune practices that ought to be prohibited!" Umbridge sat down and smiled at the rest of the staff, and most of us were just taken aback by what she said. I leaned close to Minerva, my hair blocking half of my face so no one could see or hear what I was saying.

"Is Dumbledore really going to allow this?" I whispered. "The students aren't going to get sufficient education, Minerva. We have to do something about this." I sat back in my chair, and glanced over at Umbridge, who was eyeing me suspiciously. I gripped the sides of my chair and my knuckles turned white. Minerva was right, my job was more at risk than anyone else's. I had to play it safe.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter, guys. Guess what? I just went to the HP exhibition! It was incredible. If you ever get the chance, go! It was some of the best hours of my life, let me tell you.**

**So proud of you guys! 10 reviews! Over 360! Let's keep it up!**

**I also hope you enjoyed the little bit of RemusxIsabelxSirius at the start.**

**I am so surprised at how split you guys are on the Team Remus/Team Sirius thing. But, it seems at the moment, that more of you are Team Remus. Why - for those that are - are you on Team Remus over Team Sirius? And why are Isabel/Sirius shippers on Team Sirius instead of Team Remus?**

**Next Chapter -  
**Umbridge interrogates Isabel. Draco and Isabel have a little catch up that doesn't end very well, and Isabel goes to someone about her Father.

**Tumblr page -  
****I've put up chapter names for chapters 57-80, and the rest of the chapter names will be coming soon. There are spoilers involved...just a heads up, but the only place you can see them is my fanfic tumblr page: bellabellex . tumblr . com**


	57. Interrogation

**Thanks to: TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, LaFlorine, ThoughtVortex, ZabuzasGirl, alexis, HPFan, MissMysticFalls11, anon and Tessa for your reviews of last chapter**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Professor Umbridge - Order of the Phoenix Soundtrack**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

In our first DADA lesson, Harry was given a detention. I knew this was going to happen. After sending a Ministry Official in here, things would change. I was stupid not to think that it wouldn't. It was like the Ministry was trying to destroy Harry and Dumbledore from the inside. I could see Ron glancing at me, trying to get me to help Harry out of the detention, but I couldn't. Umbridge had a position of power over me, and worked for the Ministry. If I disagreed with her I could lose my job. I was feeling so guilty though.

"That was an interesting lesson, don't you think?" Umbridge said when the lesson was finished. "The children seemed to learn quite a lot."

"Oh, yes, sure," I replied, not sure of what to say. What could I say? Everything she had done in that lesson I didn't agree with.

"Are you alright, dear? You seem a little...nervous." Umbridge giggled and smiled at me, but it wasn't a reassuring smile. It was more of a _'I'm watching your every move so don't say anything stupid' _smile. I nodded and picked up the Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook. I opened it and started reading; anything for Umbridge to leave me alone.

* * *

Days later, Minerva, Poppy, Filius, Pormona, Father and the rest of the teachers had gathered in the the Headmaster's office. Most of the teachers had become alarmed that Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three had passed. Dolores Umbridge had become High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. Everyone was talking and shouting things at Dumbledore at the same time. Minerva, Father and I stood at the back, watching this scene unfold. I had never seen anything like it.

"Albus, how could you let this happen!" Pormona said.

"I didn't have a say in it, Pormona. I am sorry. If I had a say in it I'd - " Dumbledore was saying, until he was interrupted by a high pitched giggle.

"Hem-hem." We all turned towards the door to see the toad faced woman that was Dolores Umbridge, standing there looking as proud as ever. "How glad to see you're all here! I was hoping to speak to every one of you. Now, I want you all to stay calm over this. Nothing will change here at Hogwarts. All Cornelius has asked me to do is watch over things here...make sure everything runs smoothly." We could all tell she was lying. Her eyes told the whole story. "Now, just to make sure all things do run smoothly, I will be questioning you all in the next few days; just to get to know you all better. Is this okay with everyone?" I wanted to say no, and I think everyone else did to, but we gave in and nodded.

"Fantastic. We shall start tomorrow," Umbridge said. I glanced over at Minerva, who appeared to be very worried.

* * *

I sat at my desk in my office, reading a book on potions, thinking of what they'd be doing at Grimmauld Place, when I heard a small cough. I put down the book to see Dolores Umbridge looking down on me. Umbridge was a bitch. Ever since she's stepped foot in this castle I've hated her. She didn't help her case when she told me my Defence Against the Dark Arts skills weren't up to scratch.

"Hello, dear, may I have just a little chat?" She asked.

"Of course, sit down," I replied, nodding and pointing at the chair as politely as I could, indicating her to sit.

"How are you?" Umbridge asked me, a huge smile on her face. She would be happy; she practically had complete control over everyone and everything in the school now. Dumbledore's position didn't matter.

"Fine," I told her, being cautious. She took out a clipboard and sat in on my desk. Now I had every reason to be worried.

"May I ask you a few questions, dear?" I sat back in my chair and nodded. I had to be extra careful with my responses here. A few slip ups and I was gone. I had heard how brutal she was in questioning, and there was talk that someone was going to be sacked within the next few days. I wasn't confident.

"What is your post here?" She asked. For a moment I thought she was joking, but the look on her face said otherwise. She knew the answer to this question; wasn't it pointless asking me?

"Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"And what do you do?" She said immediately after I answered her first question.

"I assist with classes, I am there to back up the senior teacher if they are unable to teach and I am learning on how to be a teacher."

"Right. How long have you been in the post?"

"Since 1993."

"And Professor Snape, the Potions Master, is your father?"

"That is correct."

"Would you say you earned the position you are in now, or would you say that it was handed to you because of who your father is?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, raising my eyebrows, a surprised expression coming over my face. Was this woman truly asking me that question?

"My dear, your father has worked here for years. Do you think you earned it, or do you think Dumbledore gave it to you because he felt sorry for you? It is a perfectly simple question to answer." My knuckles went white as my fists balled in rage under the table where she couldn't see them. I wanted to pull my wand out and hex her, but that would make it a whole lot worse for me. I breathed in deeply and looked at Umbridge, ready to answer her.

"I believe that I received this job because of my hard work here at Hogwarts. I did well every single year I was here, especially in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Dumbledore obviously wanted to reward my hard work. My father had no idea that Dumbledore first offered the job to me, so he played no part in it at all. I put it down to hard work." I crossed my arms, and stared at Umbridge, who seemed surprised by my reaction; surprised that I dared to talk back to her.

"Miss. Snape, you do realise that you will be working under me, so I assume that you are smart enough to not get on my bad side." Umbridge giggled, but her glare pierced me. She stood up, walked over to my side of the desk and stood over me. I was lying to myself if I said I wasn't just a little intimidated. "Now, my dear, if all goes well, we shouldn't be spending that much more time together." She smiled at me, turned her back and walked out of my office. I picked up my bottle of ink and threw it at my door, full of fury.

"Why me?" I groaned. _'You're gone. You're job is gone.' _I tried to ignore my head, I really did, but it was telling me the truth. I was beginning to see things differently. Umbridge knew that at some point I was going to step in and do something about it eventually. I could feel something bad; I knew that she was going to do something to me or my job. There was a knock at the door, followed by another knock, and another one.

"Come in," I called out. A boy with platinum blonde hair and a pointed face opened the door slowly to see ink all over the floor.

"Oh, sorry Draco. Let me clean this before you come in." I pointed my wand at the door and the mess on the floor. "Scourgify." Soon, the ink and shattered glass from the bottle had been cleaned away, and it was safe for him to come in.

"Isabel...are you alright?" He asked, realising the state I was in.

"Oh, yeah, just stressed."

"I saw Professor Umbridge leaving your office. What were you both discussing?" I frowned. He knew something was up, otherwise he wouldn't have asked. I didn't want him worrying about me losing my position, though. I opened my mouth to speak, but then Draco put his hand up, to stop me from speaking. "Tell me the truth. Don't lie." Who was I to lie to him?

"Draco, she was interrogating me."

"Interrogating you?"

"Ever since she has become High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, she has been questioning every teacher about who they are and their position in the school." My head fell in my hands; I was too tired for this. "Umbridge finished interrogating me on who I am and my position."

"And? What about your position?"

"Draco...she told me if all goes well, we wouldn't be spending much time with each other. Draco, she's going to fire me." Draco's expression didn't change. He wasn't shocked, surprised, upset, happy, sad; nothing.

"What did you do?" Draco snapped, astonishing me.

"What?"

"There must be a reason why you're going to be sacked. So, I'll ask again, what did you do? Probably the fact that you're siding with Potter, Weasel and Mudblood."

"How dare you, Draco! 30 points from Slytherin! Get out of my office!" I shouted, waving my wand to open the door.

"You'll regret being friends with them one day," Draco hissed before leaving my office. I didn't know if this day could get any worse.

* * *

A few days after my little encounter with Draco and Umbridge, I decided to go and see Dumbledore. However, I wanted to see him for different reasons than Umbridge and Draco. I thought that the Headmaster would be the best person to talk to about my father, and trying to get him talking to me again. It had been so long until he had uttered a word to me. I missed him. I entered the Headmaster's tower, and the Headmaster's office; and Dumbledore was already waiting for me. Of course he knew I was coming, it was Dumbledore!

"Isabel, what brings you here?" He asked as I sat on the other side of his desk.

"My Father, Sir," I replied.

"Really? I would have thought it'd be about Professor Umbridge."

"She's bothering me too, but it's more about Father. You see, Sir, he hasn't talked to me since he found out about Sirius," I told him. I pressed my lips together and looked down. "It's been over a month, Sir; and I haven't heard him speak a word to me."

"Not one word?"

"Not one." Dumbledore turned to the portrait on his left.

"Go and get Severus, please." The portrait simply nodded and went on it's way. "I did not realise that things between you were this bad, Isabel. Minerva had told me that he did not take it very well, as expected, but I did not think he'd completely stop talking to you."

"I didn't anticipate that, either, Headmaster."

"Love it such a difficult thing sometimes. Your love for your father is obviously much different to your love for Remus and Sirius, but it has still gotten you into the trouble that your love for Remus and Sirius has."

"Sir...I don't..."

"Remus and Sirius are both good men, my dear. They will not intentionally hurt you. I wonder, though, will you end up hurting one of them because of your feelings for the other?" Thankfully, we were interrupted by someone opening the door. The slam of the door was deafening, and before I knew it, Father had appeared at my side. I stared up at him, hoping that he'd acknowledge me. To my complete disappointment, he didn't even send a glance my way. He just looked straight ahead at Dumbledore. I sighed and bit my lip; I was attempting to control my emotions. I didn't want to burst into tears.

"You sent for me, Headmaster?

"Severus, I called you because your daughter here asked for my help. I do find it hard to believe that you haven't talked to her for over a month."

"She knows why I have not talked to her in a month, Headmaster. Black and I are not exactly the best of friends, are we? The man spent twelve years in Azkaban, and everyone is expecting me to just accept their relationship?" His tone was venomous; it became clear he was willing to shut me out as long as I was with Sirius. "Even Lupin would have been better." If there was a way to make it worse, Father just succeeded.

"That is unfair on your daughter, Severus," Dumbledore said. "At least say something to her now." Father then made eye contact with me for the first time he had entered this office, and his eyes showed that he cared. I could clearly see it. He then looked back at Dumbledore and cleared his throat.

"I stand by what I said. If she wants to see Black, that is fine by me, but she will not have me in her life until she gets rid of him." It tore my heart in two to hear those words come out of his mouth. I stood up and walked out of the room quickly, fighting tears back as I walked as quickly as I could to get to my office. Had I truly lost my father?

* * *

**A/N: That took me forever and ever to write! Seriously! But you guys are worth all the pain of getting through a chapter you have no motivation to write.**

**To alexis, if you're able to private message me somehow I can tell you the answer to your question. I don't want to spoil it on here.**

**Next chapter -  
**A favourite of yours returns to the story. Isabel continues to freak out over her job, wondering when she'll be sacked.


	58. Fear

**Thanks to: ZabuzasGirl, HPFan, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, LaFlorine, Tessa & MissMysticFalls 11 for your reviews of last chapter.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Another Story - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Score**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I had a rough night. Draco, Umbridge, Remus and Sirius; all these thoughts were floating around in my head. It was silent when I woke up. My bed felt more comfortable than it did when I got in it last night; I could have stayed in there all day. I groaned as I pulled myself reluctantly from my bed, got dressed and walked into the dining room in my private quarters for breakfast. I was shocked to see Dobby at my dining table with my breakfast sitting in the spot where I usually sat.

"Dobby!" I exclaimed.

"Good morning, Miss Isabel! How did Miss sleep?" The house elf replied with a beaming smile to go along with it.

"It's so good to see you Dobby!" I said, walking over to the dining table and sitting where the breakfast had been placed. "Did you make this?" Dobby nodded, his large, green eyes sparkling. I took one mouthful of the food and couldn't believe how good it tasted. "Dobby, this is brilliant. I didn't know you could cook so well."

"Dobby wanted to surprise Miss Isabel."

"Well, thank you, Dobby. This is just the start to the day that I needed." I continued eating, and Dobby pulled out the chair beside me and sat down.

"How was Miss' holidays?" Dobby asked me. I nodded and swallowed the large piece of scrambled eggs that I had in my mouth.

"They were quite good, Dobby. Thank you for asking, how were yours?"

"Dobby's holidays were alright. Dobby missed Harry Potter, Miss Isabel and Miss Gabrielle. Miss Gabrielle wrote to Dobby!" I was so glad to hear that Gabrielle was still in contact with Dobby. Dobby thought so much of my youngest sister.

"That's fantastic, Dobby! How often has she written to you?"

"She wrote to Dobby four times over the holidays! Dobby received a letter!"

"I am so glad that she contacted you, Dobby. I know she thought of you as a very good friend on her stay here at Hogwarts."

"Miss Gabrielle was a very good friend to Dobby, too!" Dobby answered almost immediately. "One of the best friends Dobby has ever had!" I smiled at Dobby before finishing my breakfast.

"This was such a good breakfast, Dobby. Thank you. I must go and see Professor McGonagall before classes, but I shall see you later, yes?" Dobby jumped out of his chair quickly and nodded.

"Yes, yes! Dobby shall definitely come and see Miss Isabel soon! Have a good day teaching, Miss!" Dobby beamed at me once more before apparating out of my office. I picked up my wand and the supposed 'textbook' we were using and left my office, ready to endure another day of Umbridge and her crap.

* * *

I arrived at the Transfiguration classroom, and was glad that no students had arrived early for class. I knocked on the open wooden door and walked in, Minerva looking up at me, then taking off her glasses.

"Good morning, Isabel. What can I do for you this morning?" Minerva asked when I reached the front of the classroom. She took a closer look at my face and frowned. "You haven't slept," she said. "I can see your eyes..."

"I know, Minerva...I'd prefer not to talk about the reasons I have not slept," I told her calmly. _'Yeah, because you want to tell her you spent half the night thinking of your boyfriend's best friend.' _Minerva simply nodded at me, but I could tell she was suspicious. "How did your questioning go?" I asked Minerva. She laughed at me and shook her head. "Don't laugh, Minerva, I fear my boggart is going to turn into bloody Umbridge herself. Now, tell me, how'd it go? I'm getting all anxious, here." Minerva nodded and waved her hand for me to sit down on the chair behind her desk.

"I was much too smart for the old toad, Isabel. She was shooting all these questions at me, and I answered every single one as calmly as I possibly could. Enough of me, how did yours go?" She smiled at me, probably thinking that I passed my interrogation with flying colours. I was happy to hear that she had no bad news, but I couldn't help but think if I were in a different teaching position, this wouldn't be happening to me.

"It didn't go so well..."

"Didn't go so well?"

"Minerva, I'm certain that I am going to be sacked." Minerva frowned, reached over and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Are you sure that this is going to happen?"

"She said so herself. She told me if all goes well, we shouldn't be spending much more time together. I am gone, Minerva, I know it." I rubbed my eyes and yawned, the consequences for my terrible sleep last night.

"Well, don't look at it as a negative, Isabel."

"How can I not look at it as a negative? I'm going to lose my job! How could I possibly see that as a positive?"

"You'll get to go back to Grimmauld Place, spend more time with Sirius and Remus, dear." I slammed my hands down on Minerva's desk and shook my head.

"People have got to stop saying Sirius and Remus in the same sentence like that." I was overreacting again; but it was normal for me to overreact when it came to those two. People were used to it by now.

"Like what?"

"You know what, Minerva. Like everyone thinks I'm in love with Remus like I am with Sirius," I snapped. "It's my life and people have to stop assuming things about my love life. I bet we're the gossip of the Order. How many times have I been talked about?"

"None, dear. I just thought...he was your best friend, and you two were so close...and I heard how devastated you were when he stopped contact with you; you loved him and he loved you. I just thought some old feelings may be there. I'm sorry if I have upset you, Isabel, forgive me." I sighed and sunk lower into my seat. Minerva was right, though, no matter how much I didn't want to admit it to myself.

"I'm sorry, Minerva, you'll have to forgive me. I'm just a little stressed at the moment. However, you're right. Maybe losing my job won't be so terrible," I said, even managing to crack a smile.

"That's the spirit," Minerva said. "Now, off you go. I've got some marking I am very behind on, and you will not want to be late for your class, or Umbridge will fire you sooner than you thought." I laughed at Minerva.

"You're beginning to sound like my teacher again. Goodbye, Minerva." I turned on my heel and walked out of the classroom. I was feeling slightly better than before. I didn't want to lose my job, but I missed everyone; Tonks, Bill, Charlie, Sirius...Remus. _'What happened to not mentioning them in the same sentence, Isabel?' _My head teased. Merlin, I hated my brain sometimes.

* * *

"Isabel, dear," Umbridge greeted me when I walked into the classroom, ending her hello with a giggle. "You're late." I looked around at the empty classroom. How was I late if no one was here yet? But of course, Umbridge was my boss. As hard as I tried, I would never be able to please this woman. I went and sat at my desk without a word. "Why were you late?"

"I wasn't late, _Dolores_. There are no students here. How could I be late?" Umbridge raised her eyebrows and pouted.

"Is that a way you speak to someone with authority, Miss. Snape?" Umbridge stood over me, then picked up the picture frame on my desk. The picture was of Fleur, Gabrielle and I; taken last year during the tournament. She looked at it carefully, then smiled. It wasn't a true, genuine, warm smile. It was a evil, twisted smile. "What a lovely photograph. Who are these two beautiful girls with you?"

"M-my sisters," I replied, afraid of what she was going to do.

"I didn't know you had any sisters...your father said you were his only child."

"We have different fathers," I told her. "Please give me the photograph back."

"Different fathers, is that so?" She said, ignoring me. "So your mother cheated on her husband with your father. Wouldn't you say that is a disgraceful and low act? Your mother is, what I would call, a tramp! You are the product of a tramp. Aren't you ashamed?" Umbridge lifted the frame above her head; she was going to throw it.

"No, please! Don't!" It was too late. Moments later, the sound of glass shattering filled the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. I looked down to see the frame was ruined, but the photo still in tact. I breathed out slowly. As long as I had the photo...

"Incendio," Umbridge said, pointing at the photo. The photo went up in flames, and I burst into tears.

"How could you!" I shouted at Umbridge. "That was my only photo of the three of us! I would never do that to something of yours!"

"Finite Incantatem," she said. The damage could now be assessed. I stared at the charred photo, anger and sadness filling me up at the same time. "That will teach you not to disrespect your senior, and disrespect the Ministry. Now clean up this mess before the children arrive." Umbridge turned her back and walked up the stairs to her office, leaving me with the mess she had made. I fell to my knees and cried, picking up the burnt photo. I breathed in deeply. I had to keep it together and get on with my day. She wasn't going to beat me.

* * *

I was doing my routine patrols of the courtyards just before nightfall, and when I reached the Covered Bridge, I wondered why Harry Potter was standing in the middle of it, staring out at the sunset. He was incredibly lucky that I was the one to find him, not someone else.

"Harry? What are you doing out here?" I asked sternly, my voice startling him.

"Oh, Isabel...I, er - "

"You are very fortunate that I was the one to catch you out here. It's almost nightfall, Harry, you should be in the castle! If it were Professor McGonagall, my father or Umbridge to find you here you wouldn't have been so lucky."

"Lucky? So you're not giving me a detention or taking off points?" I went and stood next to Harry and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"No, I'm not, but don't do this again, alright, Harry? I don't want to see you in yet another detention, especially with Umbridge." Harry looked at me, his eyes full of sadness, but nodded. "What is it Harry? Why do you seem so miserable?"

"Because I'm here, and I feel so alone. I wish I was at Grimmauld Place with Sirius." I smiled sadly at Harry. I could sympathise with Harry; I felt alone too.

"I know, Harry. I know how you're feeling, but you need to be here. At Grimmauld Place, you'd hardly be able to see daylight. This is your home Harry, no matter how alone you may feel here. You have friends here that are always willing to help you out. Times may seem tough, but I promise you, you'll never be alone." Harry and I stared out at the hills and trees that surrounded Hogwarts as the sun continued to go down behind them, changing the colour of the sky to magnificent reds, pinks and oranges.

"I'll always have you to turn to," Harry told me. Guilt set in as Harry said those words. He wouldn't have me to turn to for much longer. Harry noticed my changed expression. "What is it?"

"Harry, I'm afraid I won't be here at Hogwarts much longer." I sighed and looked away from Harry.

"Why?" Harry replied. "Why are you leaving? I don't want you to leave, you're one of the only teachers at this school I can truly trust and confide in, especially now that Umbridge is around." I turned back to Harry to see his eyes, pleading with mine.

"I don't have a say in it, Harry," I said grimly.

"What?"

"Umbridge as High Inquisitor of Hogwarts is able to dismiss teachers from their post. You may have noticed in some classes she was interrogating teachers. She questioned me, and it didn't go so well." I coughed, attempting to clear the frog in my throat. "I'm sure she's going to be sacking me any day now."

"She can't do that!"

"She can and she will, Harry. It's alright, though. I'm trying to stay positive about this."

"How can you be positive about losing your job?" He asked me.

"Because I'll have something to go home to this time around," I answered, thinking of Sirius, Tonks, Bill, Molly, Arthur and Remus. _'There you are again, Isabel. Remus.' _"Shut up," I hissed under my breath at my head.

"Oh, right, Sirius and Lupin." The smile on my face was wiped away.

"Will there ever be a time where people do not speak of them to me in the same sentence?"

"No, I don't think there will be until you make it clear to everyone which one you're with," Harry replied, astounding me.

"Harry...I'm..."

"With Sirius. I know. I'm completely hopeless at the whole love situation thing, but I just want you to think carefully about your whole situation. They're both kind of...messed up. Lupin's a werewolf and Sirius spend over a decade in Azkaban..."

"Harry, I get where you're coming from, I won't hurt them; either of them. Sirius and Remus both know where I stand, now if you wouldn't mind, I'm tired of talking about both of them. You should be getting to your common room, the sun has nearly set," I told Harry. I was sick of talking about my private life with other people.

"Oh, okay. Goodnight, Isabel."

"Goodnight, Harry," I said. Harry turned on his heel and walked back into the castle. I looked at the sunset once more before leaving the bridge myself.

* * *

**A/N: I thought this chapter was better than the last one, even if it was yet another filler. The story picks up next chapter, I promise you guys. **

**Preview for next chapter -  
**"Miss Isabel Snape, it is my duty to inform you that you are being released from your teaching post as Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

**Head to the tumblr page for sneak peeks, spoilers, photos, themes and more - bellabellex . tumblr . com**


	59. Sacked

**Thanks to: ThoughtVortex, UltimateLHOTPFan, Redstarling, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, Tessa, Elfsquire90 & LaFlorine for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile/Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Profile/Tumblr (Note, the theme has changed)]  
**__**Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Profile /Tumblr (Note, the theme has changed)]  
**__**Split Screen Sadness by John Mayer  
Wrap My Head Around You by Trent Dabbs **_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

It had finally reached the weekend, and I was still surprised I had my job. After eating breakfast with Minerva and Pormona, I returned to my office to retrieve a few things before my patrol of the dungeons and Slytherin common room.

"Alohomora," I said to unlock the door to my office. The door opened, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Was this some sort of sick joke? I walked inside, and all my possessions were gone. I waved my wand to open the door to my private quarters to find that my possessions weren't in there either. There was no way this was a joke; no students would go this far, and the teachers were far too mature.

"Revelio," I said, but nothing happened. Nothing had been concealed in my office. Everything had been taken. As I turned to go back into my office, I spotted a note left on my desk. I picked it up and opened it.

'_Please come to the Viaduct Courtyard immediately.'_

There was no signature, no name, no nothing. Just this message. I shrugged and left my office, running up the stairs from the dungeon and making my way to the Viaduct Courtyard as fast as I could.

* * *

I arrived at the courtyard to see students and teachers gathered around Umbridge and a heap of someone's belongings. When people noticed my presence, there were whispers, and then it seemed as if everyone's eyes were on me. I looked at the heap of belongings again and saw the name on the trunks. _'Professor Isabel Snape.' _I realised what was going on; I was being sacked. The moment I had been anticipating ever since my questioning was here...and it was in front of the whole school. I held my head high and walked over to Umbridge.

"Decided to put on a show, have you?" I spat at her. She ignored my comment and handed me a piece of parchment.

"Miss Isabel Snape, it is my duty to inform you that under Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three, you are being released from your teaching post as Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"No!" Someone shouted. I looked over to my right to see Fred, standing with George, looking extremely upset. My lips curled up into a small smile; I didn't want Fred to do anything that would get him into trouble. Other students yelled things out at Umbridge. Others just continued to whisper. I glanced to my left, where the Hogwarts staff, including Minerva, Filius and Father were standing.

"Do you have a problem with any of this?" Umbridge asked, silencing everyone in the courtyard.

"No," I replied. "No I don't." Umbridge smiled wickedly and gave me a curt nod.

"Well then, I'm sure you can see yourself out. There is a carriage waiting for you outside." Umbridge turned on her heel and walked back inside, giggling once or twice. I wanted to hex her while she wasn't looking, but then I thought there was no use if I couldn't see her reaction. Umbridge walked back inside the castle, leaving me surrounded by students and staff.

"Isabel, I am so sorry," Minerva said, walking up behind me.

"I didn't think she'd do it in front of everyone. I feel so embarrassed."

"This is unfair, Isabel. I wonder if Dumbledore knew about this..."

"Even if he did know, Minerva, it wouldn't have made a difference. Dumbledore doesn't run this school anymore. The Ministry does. Take good care of Harry. Make sure that Umbridge doesn't do anything unjust to him. I promised Sirius that I would watch over him and now I can't do that, so you have to do it." I smiled and hugged Minerva.

"I'll take care of your possessions. I'll send them to Grimmauld Place for you," Minerva told me.

"Thank you, thank you." I looked over Minerva's shoulder to see Father approaching us. Minerva moved over to my luggage and started sending them away, leaving Father and I alone. "I'm sorry," I said to him. "I've disappointed you." Father looked down at me and shook his head.

"This is not your fault," he said.

"You're talking to me now?"

"Be safe," he told me. He turned on his heel and went back into the castle. I didn't know how long it was going to be until I saw him again. Most of the students had now left the courtyard, but a few stayed. Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione all stood near the exit to the courtyard. I put my wand away in my pocket and made my way over to them.

"This is completely ridiculous!" Hermione exclaimed. "She cannot do this to you!"

"Hermione, it's nothing to get all angry about."

"It's everything to get angry about. She has no right to terminate your position at this school without a real reason."

"Hermione, listen to me. Umbridge has the power, I can't do anything about this and neither can Dumbledore." Hermione sighed and stepped back beside Ron. She was visibly upset. Hermione and I had never been that close, but we counted each other as friends.

"We're really sad to see you go," George told me.

"Yeah, me too. Make sure you look after each other. I'm sure Umbridge will receive a lot more power over this school than she does now, so make sure that you don't get torn apart by what she does. Promise me."

"We promise," Ginny said.

"Then it's time for me to be going." I turned away from my young friends and walked down the stairs at the front of the Viaduct Courtyard. It felt weird to be walking out of this place that I loved so much. When I was offered this job a few years ago, I didn't think that I would grow so attached to it. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, a carriage was waiting for me, read to take me to Hogsmeade. I hopped in the carriage, and it began moving. I looked behind me, watching the entrance of Hogwarts disappear.

"You told yourself you wouldn't cry," I said to myself, wiping the single tear that had fallen down my cheek. The carriage continued it's rough journey from Hogwarts until it reached Hogsmeade. It came to a complete stop at the end of the main street. I didn't want anyone to see me; I would be much too embarrassed to explain the situation. I closed my eyes and apparated from the small Wizarding town to the street around the corner from Grimmauld Place.

* * *

I peeked around the corner to check for muggles. It was going to be a difficult task getting inside in broad daylight. I waited for a few muggle kids to clear the area and ran out I closed my eyes, a could hear a loud rumble. When I opened my eyes, Twelve Grimmauld Place was there in front of me. I checked that the coast was clear, then ran up the stairs and opened the door to my home. I shut the front door of Twelve Grimmauld Place as quietly as I could; I didn't know who was here or what anyone was doing. Better to be safe than sorry. I smiled when I saw my belongings sitting in the doorway. I made a mental note that I had to thank Minerva when I saw her next. I walked down the hallway of Grimmauld Place and opened the door to the kitchen. Moody, Kingsley, Molly, Arthur, Emmeline Vance, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones, Tonks, Bill, Remus and Sirius all looked at me at the same time, all with the same shocked expression.

"Hi everybody, am I late?" I said, grinning. Sirius jumped up from the table and came over to where I was standing. He put his arms around me and spun me around before kissing me ever so softly. When he pulled back, he cupped my face in my hands and smiled.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing here?" He asked. My hands reached up to his and removed them from my face; I walked over to the main table and sat down, everyone still watching my every move.

"I was sacked," I told him.

"Wait," Remus said. "What? How can Dumbledore let that happen?"

"He couldn't help it, Remus. Umbridge has nearly complete control of the school as High Inquisitor. Her first major act was shipping me out of the school."

"Why would she do it to you, though?" Tonks asked.

"She somehow figured out that I didn't like her teaching methods. I guess I would have tried to teach the students secretly. The Ministry have gone much too far with this."

"There is no way the Ministry are going to be changing their stance on this, either," Moody said.

"Why? What's happened?" I asked.

"They are continuing their smear campaign in _The Daily Prophet_. Harry and Dumbledore are continuing to cop it," Arthur told me. "We're being watched at work, too. We have to be extremely careful with our movements. Kinglsey's in the best position out of all of us; Fudge trusts him completely. Tonks is also in a decent position...I'm the one being watched the most."

"And good old Uncle Lucius is still making frequent visits to the Ministry. I've seen him a few times," Tonks told me. I felt sick hearing his name. Whenever someone mentioned Lucius, all I could think about were the times that I spent with him. I fell for practically all of his games. Looking back on it, I couldn't believe how stupid I was.

"Are you alright?" Tonks asked, cocking her head to the left. "You look a little pale, Isabel." I put on a laugh and a smile, trying to make it seem like I was fine.

"Do I? Well, I feel absolutely fantastic, Tonks, so I don't know why you think I'm not." Tonks rolled her eyes and brushed it off. Kingsley glanced up at the clock on the wall, and his eyes widened.

"I must be going, the Minister will be worrying where I am. Nymphadora, Arthur, make sure you get to the Ministry on time for your shifts tonight."

"Yes, _Dad_," Tonks teased. Kingsely ignored her and left the room. At that moment, without saying a word, Moody, Vance, Doge, Diggle and Jones, all rose from their seats and left the kitchen. The meeting was obviously over.

* * *

It felt good to be in the arms of Sirius again; it felt normal. I sat in front of him on our bed, my head leaning on his arms, my hand entwined with his. I guessed this was one of the good things about being sacked. It had not even been that long, and I had missed Sirius' dark hair and his beautiful grey eyes.

"Are you upset about getting sacked? I knew how much that job meant to you."

"I wouldn't be human if I wasn't upset about it, but I knew it was coming. I knew for days; it was just a matter of time. Yes, the way she did it was humiliating, but I had to accept it and move on. There was no use making a big fuss and crying about it."

"I'm proud of you. And forgive me if this sounds very...well...selfish, but I am just a little bit glad that you were sacked. It means I can have you here, all to myself," he whispered before kissing my hair. I could not help being distracted by the smell of stale drink filling the room.

"What's that awful smell?" I asked.

"I was a little depressed when you and Harry returned to Hogwarts. I was hoping the drink would be a good replacement."

"You attempted to replace your godson and girlfriend with alcohol?" I snapped, releasing myself from Sirius' grip. I stood beside the bed and put my hands on my hips. I just wanted to hex him right now. I was so angry!

"Isabel, it's not like that," Sirius said, reaching out for my hand. I moved my hand out of the way and glared at him.

"It's not like that? What is it like then, Sirius? I'm fine with you having a drink and all, but saying it the way you said it - "

"How did I say it?"

"You said you were hoping the drink was a good replacement."

"It wasn't as nice tasting as you, but it did while you were gone," Sirius replied with a wink. I threw my hands in the air and stormed out of our bedroom in a huff. "Wait! Isabel! I was joking!" I heard him call out. It didn't sound like he was joking at first. I marched down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Remus, Arthur, Tonks and Molly were all sitting. They were all startled when I slammed the door behind me.

"You haven't gone home yet?" I asked Tonks when she swiveled around to look at me.

"No, I haven't. What's your problem?"

"The man I somehow call my boyfriend is my problem," I said, still irritated at what he had said.

"I guess you'll be needing this then," Molly said, passing me the glass of wine she had just poured for herself. I nodded at her in thanks and brought the glass to my lips. I couldn't deny that I felt a little hypocritical, drinking wine after my argument with Sirius, but at least I didn't say I was replacing him with alcohol.

"What did he do his time around?" Remus asked.

"Told me he hoped that alcohol would be a good replacement for Harry and I while we were gone," I said, then took another mouthful of wine. I would need it for telling them what Sirius said to me next. "Oh, and you guys are going to love this one. He told me, in these exact words, that alcohol wasn't as nice tasting as me, but it did while I was gone."

"Oh, this conversation is too much for me," Molly told us, rising from her seat and leaving the kitchen quickly. Arthur sighed and went after his wife, leaving Tonks, Remus and I.

"Did he mean that in a - "

"He meant it in a sexual way, Tonks, yes," I said, cutting Tonks off. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Remus, looking a slightly angry and disgusted at the same time.

"Men can be pigs," Tonks said. She then turned to Remus, her eyes apologetic. "Sorry, Lupin. No offence."

"None taken," he replied. "I do not condone what Sirius said either, for the record. He needs to learn how to treat a woman properly. Especially if that woman is very, very special." I looked down and tried my best to keep my smile concealed.

"I agree with that statement, Lupin. Well done, you've passed the test." Tonks applauded him quietly. Remus stared at Tonks, confusion filling his face.

"Passed what test?"

"The 'man who actually get how women feel' test. And on that note, I must be heading to the Ministry. I'll see you both later." Tonks hugged me quickly and nodded at Remus, then left the house, just as Kingsley did an hour ago. The door closed for a second time, and I assumed that was Arthur heading off for work, too.

"Sirius was never the most tasteful person in the world," Remus said.

"I gathered that," I replied, nodding. "Never thought he'd be comparing me to the taste of alcohol. It was just a tad bit insulting. And in that way, especially."

"Being sacked and an argument with Sirius in the same day. Hasn't been the most fantastic couple of hours for you, has it?" That smile of his appeared and melted my insides straightaway. I wonder if he knew how much if affected me...

"It hasn't been," I replied softly.

"Well, if it counts for anything, I'm sorry about you losing your job. You were becoming a fantastic teacher." Remus placed his hand on mine, and everything came rushing back. The kisses, the whispers, the hugs; his touch still affected me, too.

"I have a favour to ask you," Remus said, snapping me back to reality.

"Anything," I replied.

"The full moon is on it's way, and I haven't got any Wolfsbane Potion...am I asking too much of you if I ask you to brew it for me? I know it's an extremely difficult potion to make - "

"Remus, stop, stop. You would think that being Severus Snape's daughter, I would have learned a thing or two. Of course I'll brew it for you."

"Oh, thank you, Isabel. I'll need it a week before the full moon...which is in two weeks. So I need it in a week. Is that too difficult?"

"No, of course not. I'll have it read for you," I told him. I was happy that I had a chance to help Remus out, but at the same time I was frightened. What if I screwed the potion up?

"I cannot thank you - " Our conversation was interrupted by loud footsteps coming down the stairs. Seconds later, the kitchen door flew open, and in came Sirius.

"Sorry to interrupt you, Moony, but I really need to talk to my girlfriend," Sirius said. I turned to Remus, who just shrugged, then turned back to Sirius.

"No, I don't think we need to talk. I think I can just replace you with wine," I spat, picking up my wine glass and leaving the kitchen angrily. He was yet to apologise; that was the only thing that made me so angry about this situation. I stomped up the stairs and banged the door shut behind me. Hopefully that would send Sirius a message.

* * *

**A/N: I can hear you all shouting LOVE TRIANGLE at the same time, haha. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think this chapter is one to signify that the story is about to pick up. And I do hope you guys enjoy love triangles because if you have been living under a rock for the past 6 chapters, there will obviously be one between Sirius, Isabel and Remus.**

**If you head to the tumblr page (bellabellex . tumblr . com) there will be more sneak peeks posted, and the new/updated themes have been posted! **

**Next Chapter -**

"_I really need a drink," Sirius said, reaching into the cupboards of the kitchen to look for a bottle of whatever he wanted today._

"_You going to compare that one to Isabel too?" Remus asked, smirking at his best friend. _


	60. Freedom

**Thanks to: LaFlorine, ZabuzasGirl, IcyRose66, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, CryDevil, UltimateLHOTPFan, bloodyvalentinex & HPFan for your reviews of last chapter.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**The Sisters Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Remus and Isabel Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Devotion by Hurts feat. Kylie Minogue  
**__**Endtapes by The Joy Formidable**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The next morning, I woke up, a little angry to see Sirius at my side. Yes, I was still mad at him. I didn't think most women enjoyed being compared to alcohol. I rolled out of bed and walked over to the old dresser Sirius had moved into our room, especially for me. In the mirror, I could see Sirius toss and turn, before opening his eyes and sitting up.

"...Morning," he said, stretching his arms and yawning. "Are you going somewhere?" He asked, noticing that I was getting ready to go out.

"Yes, I have to go and visit Diagon Alley to buy ingredients for the Wolfsbane Potion for Remus."

"You going alone?"

"If you're suggesting that Remus is coming with me, no he isn't. I am going alone; I need some alone time. I don't get a lot in this house." I picked up my wand, my bag and went to leave the room, but just before I did I was stopped by Sirius.

"Wait, you're not still angry with me, are you?" I shrugged my right shoulder to release myself from Sirius' grip, and glared at him.

"You haven't even apologised," I spat, leaving the room. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to say that to me. It had me thinking, why did I not sleep in the spare room last night? I walked down the stairs, taking the time to stomp each foot on the ground. It was like a warning for others that I wasn't in a good mood. It felt childish and it probably looked quite childish, but I didn't care. At least I wasn't on the floor crying, having a tantrum. Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I headed straight for the front door.

"Someone's not in a good mood today." I turned around quickly at the sound of a female voice. It was Molly. She had her arms crossed and her eyebrows were raised in suspicion. "Where are you heading off to today?"

"I have to go to Diagon Alley to pick up a few things. I'll be back later."

"Oh, make sure you go and visit Bill. He'll be at Gringotts." I didn't know Bill was working at Gringotts. That surprised me. I nodded and opened the door. The cool wind drifted in from outside to the dark house. I smiled up at the sun. It was peeking out from behind a cloud. I closed the door behind me and walked down the street. I glanced around before apparating away from around the corner from Grimmauld Place.

* * *

Diagon Alley was quiet. It was odd, because I was used to students running around, hitting me with bags full of books, robes and other curious things. I took out my purse full of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts and made my way into the Apothecary, which wasn't too far from where I had originally apparated in. When I walked into the store, I shivered. It had always given me the creeps.

"Isabel Snape?" I looked up to see the man at the counter, staring at me, his eyes wide. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts teaching?"

"Oh, um." The shopkeeper caught me off-guard. I didn't think people actually knew who I was. "I was released from my job yesterday." The shopkeeper seemed even more shocked by this.

"Dumbledore would not sack you!"

"It wasn't Dumbledore that sacked me. It was the High Inquisitor."

"The High Inquisitor? You mean Dolores Umbridge? That woman has been dominating the headlines. Apparently she revolutionised the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Most of us find that hard to believe. I am quite sorry that you lost your job." I walked over the counter and smiled grimly at the shopkeeper.

"It's quite alright. I'm glad to be rid of that horrible hag anyway."

"So, what do you need?" The shopkeeper said with a smile, changing the subject. "The Potion Masters daughter must need something!"

"I need some Aconite," I replied. The shopkeeper eyed me suspiciously. I knew it would be like this; why would someone like me be asking for the main ingredient to the Wolfsbane Potion?

"You mean Wolfsbane? Why would you be needing such a thing?"

"It is none of your concern why I will be needing this ingredient," I said calmly. I didn't want to lose my temper; not here. However, it truly did annoy me that people felt the need to intrude on my business. The shopkeeper nodded and left the counter to go find the wolfsbane I needed. I leaned against the counter and played with my dress as I waited.

"Here it is," the shopkeeper said from behind me, startling me. I turned back to face the man and smiled. "That'll be three Galleons." I took exactly three Galleons from my purse and passed them to him.

"Thank you," I told him, taking the package of wolfsbane from his hands.

"Have a good day, Miss. Snape." I nodded at him before leaving his shop. I placed the package of wolfsbane into the bag I was carrying, then set out for the middle of Diagon Alley, where Gringotts was. Hopefully seeing Bill would light up my mood a little bit.

* * *

I walked inside the huge white marble building that was Gringotts. It was completely silent. All of the goblins were busy at work, stamping things and writing things down. I walked up to the front desk and cleared my throat to get the goblin's attention. The goblin looked up at me, as if it was odd that I had even entered the building.

"I wish to see Bill Weasley. I believe he works here," I said softly. The goblin looked back down and continued to write down on the parchment he was writing on before I interrupted him.

"You shall find him on the very top floor of Gringotts," the goblin said unenthusiastically, nodding towards the elevator to the right of him.

"Thank you." I turned away from the goblin and entered the elevator at his right. Standing inside the elevator, was another small goblin dressed in gold.

"Which level?" The goblin asked.

"Er, the top level?" The goblin nodded and pressed a button. A second later, the elevator shot up. It was so fast, I hit my head on the top of the elevator.

"Ow," I said, rubbing my head. Only moments later, the elevator opened. The top level was exactly the same as the entrance hall. Marble and extremely clean. I stepped out of the elevator and was greeted by yet another goblin.

"Where do you need to get to?" The goblin asked curtly, like it was a bother that I was here.

"Bill Weasley's office."

"Follow me," the goblin said. He pulled the bottom of my dress, forcing me to come along. "Hurry!" I decided not to say anything, as the goblin would probably kick me out. He pulled me to a door that said _''_. This was it. I looked down to my side to see the goblin had already left me alone. Thank goodness. I knocked on the door and clasped my hands together, waiting for a response. Soon after, the door opened to reveal a tired looking Bill.

"Isabel! What are you doing here?" He said, obviously surprised.

"I've come to pay you a visit. Molly said you were working and I needed to come to Diagon Alley to pick something up, so, here I am!"

"Bill!" A voice called from inside. It was a girls voice, with a strong French accent. It reminded me so much of Fleur's voice.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"No one..."

"Bill, who is - " The girl appeared from behind Bill, and was shocked when she made eye contact with me.

"Isabel."

"Fleur! What on earth are you doing here?" Bill sighed and looked at the two of us.

"You better come in, Isabel. We've got some explaining to do."

* * *

I sat down in Bill's perfectly clean office and looked at my sister and my friend. What was going on here? Why was Fleur not in France? The word confused didn't even come close.

"So, what's going on?"

"I decided to come over to Eeengland to imp..improve my Eeenglish. We were going to surprise you for Christmas because we thought you would be at 'ogwarts."

"And why are you here with Bill?"

"She has a part time job here at Gringotts, I got the task of improving her English." I raised my eyebrows at Bill.

"Huh," I said. I could already see it; there was something fishy going on between the two of them. Fleur kept blushing whenever he looked at her, he hadn't stopped smiling. He was smiling even when he opened the door! "And you left Gabrielle in France with that man you call your father."

"Isabel...he eez good to us. Me and Gabrielle zat eez."

"Gabrielle and I," Bill said softly, correcting Fleur.

"He's good to you, but he kicked me out and he hits our mother. Fleur, she's so young! She needed you there!" I exclaimed. I didn't care if it'd been months since I saw Fleur last, I was very angry at her. How could she be so irresponsible!

"She told me to come!"

"She's a child, Fleur. All she wants is for us to be happy. She doesn't know what's best for her. You need to go home and look after her because she has no one else," I snapped.

"Why don't you go home then?"

"That isn't my home, Fleur, and it hasn't been my home since I was eleven. I can't go and walk in the front door, otherwise Louis will curse me or something. Besides, I have a life here. I have friends, I have my father, I have - " I had to stop myself from saying Sirius, then. Fleur didn't know about him, and I didn't want her to know just yet. "Look, what I'm saying is Gabrielle needs someone there at home for her."

"She eez at Beauxbatons at ze moment. She will be fine."

"I hope that she will be Fleur because I am so scared that she will end up being hit like Mother." After this little confrontation, I didn't want to stay. I didn't want to be around Fleur while I was upset with her. I would end up saying something to her that I didn't mean. "I'll see you later," I told her. "And I'll see you back...you know where, Bill." I shot them both a forced smile and left Bill's office.

* * *

I left Gringotts with no hassles from any goblins, thankfully. I was back on Diagon Alley, and it seemed a little more busier than when I had entered Gringotts. I began to walk up the Alley, passing all different types of shops with all different types of people inside them. I could feel stares coming from some people. I guess they were wondering why I wasn't at Hogwarts, too. I turned my gaze towards the ground, not wanting to keep my head up. The stares were making me uncomfortable. Suddenly, I crashed into someone.

"How dare you - "

"Why can't people just keep out of my way for one - " I snapped, standing up while brushing my hair out of my face. I picked up my bag and looked at the person who bumped into me. My body instantly felt cold, and it was like I had turned to stone. I could not move. I was staring at Lucius Malfoy.

"Isabel," he whispered. I was frozen out of fear. I could not believe he was here in front of me. "I cannot believe it's you. Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts? Oh never mind that, we have so many things we need to discuss. I apologise for everything I did to you - "

"Get away from me," I managed to say. He put his hand on my arm, which made me instantly jump back. "You stay away from me!"

"Now, now. Let's not be irrational. Come back with me to the Manor, and we can discuss things."

"I am not going anywhere with you,_ Lucius,_" I hissed. I turned my back to him and ran up Diagon Alley, hoping he wasn't following me. When I reached the end, I instantly disapparated. From where I apparated in, I ran around the corner, into Twelve Grimmauld Place and slammed the door behind me. It had come to the point where I had run out of breath. I leaned against the door, my head resting against it too.

"Isabel?" Sirius said, appearing in the hallway. He looked at me with a confused expression. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing, I thought I saw something outside and it made me jump so I sprinted into the house." I laughed, hoping it was convincing enough. I stood up properly and walked past Sirius, down to the other end of the hallway and into the kitchen where Molly, Arthur and Remus were all sitting. They were discussing something to do with Dumbledore; once they saw me, though, they instantly stopped.

"Don't stop because of me," I told them. I sat down and waved my hand in front of me. "Please, continue."

"We were just finishing up here, actually," Molly replied, beaming at me. I rolled my eyes at her feeble attempt to convince me that what she was saying was true.

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

"I was hoping," she said softly. The kitchen door was then pushed wide open, startling all of us.

"This is only going to get worse isn't it?" Sirius asked, walking into the room, looking over at Arthur. At first Arthur attempted to avoid eye contact with Sirius, only to glance over once and be caught out. "Is this what kind of life lies ahead when a woman is involved? They keep stuff from you...they take most of your drinks away...seriously, why do we as men go through the trouble? Is this the awful life I'm in for?" My mouth fell open at his words. I looked over at Remus briefly, who seemed just as shocked as me.

"Well...not...not...well...not really, Sirius," Arthur stammered, wanting to please Molly.

"I somehow find that hard to believe," I heard Sirius mumble. He was acting quite odd today; not that he didn't act odd usually, he was just a bit more off today. For instance, he's never before stood there and insulted me like that. "I really need a drink," Sirius said, reaching into the cupboards of the kitchen to look for a bottle of whatever he wanted today.

"You going to compare that one to Isabel too?" Remus asked, smirking at his best friend.

"That is none of your business, Moony," Sirius snapped, pointing at Remus. He grabbed a bottle of firewhisky, opened it, and began guzzling it down.

"You know, you are yet to apologise for comparing me to your booze," I said to Sirius, rising from my chair and closing the cupboard to where the alcohol was. I then turned to my boyfriend and pried the bottle of firewhisky from his hands. "Give it to me, Sirius," I snapped. I finally was able to snatch the bottle out of his hands. It saddened me to think that he just turned to alcohol when he was having troubles. Would he never turn to me for that kind of help?

"...I was drinking that."

"And I don't give a damn. Look at the type of person this alcohol is making you. You're aggressive, you're rude and all you care about is guzzling the alcohol down!" I spat, slamming my fist on the table in front of me to emphasise my point. Molly, Arthur and Remus seemed surprised by my sudden outburst.

"I don't even understand why it's a big deal," Sirius said.

"It's a big deal because I feel like the alcohol is more important than me, and I feel like you don't care. That's why it's a big deal."

"You knew who I was when you decided to start seeing me, Isabel. I am not changing who I am for anyone, alright? If you can't deal with that maybe we shouldn't be together." Sirius grabbed the bottle of firewhisky from my hands and left the room, slamming the door behind him. I bit my lip, trying to stop myself from crying. When I could feel Remus touch on my back, my head fell into my hands and I began to cry.

"It's the alcohol talking," Remus said softly. "That's not really him."

"How do I know if it's really him or not, though? I'm confused."

"He cares about you," Molly said. I was shocked to hear those words come from her. After all, she's the one who protested against our relationship first. "He's probably very upset with himself right now and he knows how much he's hurt you. But as a suggestion, I say we lock up the alcohol where he can't find it."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I feel bad! So we had TWO returning characters. Yes, TWO! Bet you guys weren't expecting Lucius to pop up. And Sirius and Isabel had yet another fight. Their conflicting personalities are starting to show!**

**We are so close to the 400 reviews mark! How exciting!**

**The sneak peek for next chapter will be up on tumblr within the next couple of days, along with a few new banners (...maybe), some theme's and songs for the story and a few spoilers if you ask!**

**Tumblr page is -  
****bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**I'll also be posting up THREE versions of Remus/Isabel's theme. I want you guys to head on over and choose which one you'd like to be their official theme. **


	61. Singing To Me

**Thanks to: ThoughtVortex, LaFlorine, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, HPFan, IcyRose66 & LadyFateContemplatingDisaster.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
The Sisters Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel and Sirius' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Lump Sum by Bon Iver**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

It was another early morning start for me. I found another small room in the house and decided this was the spot I would continue to brew the Wolfsbane Potion. It was small and quiet; perfect for my needs, however it did have its flaws that were starting to get on my nerves. The day had gone past so quickly, and it was now the afternoon. I asked myself where the time went. I was stirring the potion in my silver cauldron when there was a knock at the door. I thought this room would be a secret - how did they find me here?

"Hello," Remus said, stepping inside the small room. I was happy it was Remus and not Sirius. "I see you're very busy at work here. I hope I have not disturbed you." I simply smiled at him and shook my head.

"Of course you aren't. It'd be nice to have some company. This room is a little bit on the depressing side. It's much too dark, it smells off and it has this odd feel to it. Do you understand where I am coming from, Remus?" I asked. Remus' eyes darted around the room before nodding. A chill ran up my spine as I breathed in. This room really was getting to me. "You know how many weird creatures I had to get rid of in order to make this room habitable?" I questioned, stirring the potion. "An absolutely ridiculous amount," I said, not giving Remus the time to reply. I looked up at him and frowned at his confused expression. "I'm sorry, I'm blabbering on."

"No matter - I like it when you speak," he told me.

"Really? Why? It's usually about nothing," I replied, setting my wand down on the table. I found it easier to stir the potion with my wand than the stirring tool many others used. My father condemned me most about using my wand to stir my potions; he said it wasn't proper, and that I was going to mess it all up.

"Because you speak to well. I know it sounds strange, but I like listening to the way you talk. You articulate so well and - " Remus paused when my frown turned back into the smile. Remus then smiled brilliantly himself; it was like his whole face just lit up. I could feel my cheeks warm up. Was I blushing? Oh dear, this was embarrassing. The fact that I shouldn't be blushing for the best friend of my boyfriend wasn't embarrassing; it was the fact that he was there to see it. I bit my lip, picked up my wand and opened the door. I had to leave this room immediately before I embarrassed myself further. I walked out of the small room, only to have Remus follow my lead.

"Are you just going to leave the potion sitting there unattended?" He asked. It was a feeble attempt to keep up conversation with me.

"It should be fine," I told him. "And we'll know if it blows up."

"You'll be the one cleaning it up if it does," Remus joked, his dazzling smile gracing his face yet again.

"Stop doing that," I muttered under my breath at him. It was absolutely absurd the way his smile affected me so. We walked into the dining room to see many Order members had already arrived for today's meeting. Of course all members had made themselves available for meetings (except all the Professors at Hogwarts - they had a more important job to do). I took a seat next to Sirius, and Remus sat on the other side of me. I glanced across the room to see Tonks. She was eyeing me suspiciously. I wondered what I had done wrong _this _time. More Order members piled into the room, and the last two caught everyone's eye.

"Fleur," I said. "What are you doing here?" Fleur, who was standing in the doorway with Bill, turned to face me.

"Fleur?" Sirius asked. "Who are you?" Sirius turned to me, obviously completely puzzled at my blond sister's presence. "Is this the - "

"Yes," Moody interrupted. Sirius glared at intimidating wizard. "Witches and Wizards of the Order of the Phoenix, please welcome our newest member, Miss Fleur Delacour, sister of our own Isabel Snape." Fleur sat opposite me on the long table, next to my friend Bill Weasley. They fancied each other. Everyone in the room could see it.

"So you've joined the Order?" I said to my sister while the rest of the table watched us.

"I thought I would stick around a while, and Bill took me to see 'zat Mad Eye. Now 'ere I am!"

"Do you know what we do here? Are you willing to risk your life if it ever comes to it?" I told her. I didn't want to say these things to my younger sister, but I had to. She had to know the facts. This wasn't some dream ride on a broomstick. It wasn't a walk in the park. It was common knowledge of the group that at least one of us would be killed eventually.

"What do I look like to you? The little girl 'zat Mother used to dress up in pretty clothes and tie her 'air up in pretty ribbons. Although, I didn't need ribbons to look pretty. I 'ave changed, Isabel. I want to help 'zis cause. I know the risks involved - eef I didn't I would 'ave never signed up." I was impressed. And she was right. She wasn't the little girl anymore. She was of age, I couldn't stop her joining no matter how hard I tried.

"Now, I think you should all introduce yourselves to Miss Delacour," Bill said. Bill glanced to his right at Tonks. She cleared her throat and stood up.

"My name is Nymphadora Tonks, but you may call me Tonks," she said.

"You are Isabel's good friend, no?" Fleur said. Tonks grinned and nodded. Fleur looked beside Tonks to Arthur, then to Molly, Mad Eye, Mundungus Fletcher, all through the rest of the Order members, then to Remus. He stood up and looked to my younger sister.

"My name is Remus Lupin." He then sat down, saying nothing else. I then realised it was supposed to be my turn.

"I'm quite sure you don't need me to introduce myself," I said. Fleur nodded, then turned her gaze towards Sirius. Sirius stood up and bowed at my sister, like the immature idiot he is.

"My name is Sirius Black, I own this house and the woman you call your sister is in fact my girlfriend," he said happily before sitting back down. I looked at Fleur, my face turning red. I forgot to tell her about Sirius. Damn Merlin!

"Boyfriend?" Fleur raised her eyebrows. "Mother would _love _to 'ere about this!"

"But you won't," I told her. "You will not say a word to Mother because she has enough on her plate right now. And I am a grown woman - I can make my own decisions."

"You don't want your mother to know about us?" Sirius asked. I ignored him and turned to Mad Eye. I wanted no more of this ridiculous conversation about my personal life. Like Father would say, I was not some book that could be read at someone's leisure. I cared about my privacy and I wanted to keep it that way.

"Now, Moody, can we please get on with this meeting? I'm sure there are more pressing issues at hand," I said. Mad Eye nodded and began to speak, but I could still feel many pairs of eyes watching me.

* * *

After talking for half an hour about You-Know-Who, his current whereabouts and known Death Eaters, the meeting had come to a close. Molly was now piling sandwiches onto a tray for lunch. I stood next to her, buttering pieces of bread before she finished them off with all sorts of fillings.

"Your sister is not much like you at all," Molly said quietly. "She is much different, to be quite honest. I guess you have much more Snape blood in you."

"How so?" I asked, passing her 4 pieces of buttered bread.

"She just seems different. Her body language, the way she presents herself; it's different to you." Molly placed 10 sandwiches on a tray, then went back to filling and cutting up the next few. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not."

"Fleur is just misunderstood, Molly. When she talks of how beautiful she is, just realise it's the Veela genes talking."

"You don't say things like that."

"The Veela genes are stronger in her," I told Molly. I hoped she didn't hate Fleur from this one meeting. It would be a shame, because Fleur is such a beautiful person. Molly finished cutting up the last few sandwiches. "She really is a pure soul, Molly. She has the best intentions at heart." Molly picked up the tray and sighed.

"I hope so." She took the tray over to the table and sat down next to Arthur. I huffed and returned to my seat in between Sirius and Remus.

"Sandwiches," Remus said to me, taking one from the tray. "They never get old, do they?"

"Especially if they're made by Molly," I replied half-heartedly. I took a sandwich from the tray and had one bite while staring at the floor.

"Is something bothering you?" Remus whispered into my ear. I turned to him and shook my head, turning on the most convincing smile that I could manage. Remus, however, could always tell when I was lying. "Something is wrong, I can see it."

"Can I be excused?" I asked Molly. Molly nodded at me in reply. I rose from my chair and left the room, not turning back. Molly's comments left me a little confused, Remus left me confused, Sirius left me confused and now, Fleur left me confused. I needed to be by myself for a little bit to clear my head. It wasn't good for me to be around people when I was in a mood such as this.

* * *

I could hear everyone leaving, one by one, two by two. No one had bothered me in hours. I was quite thankful for that, really. Alone time was best when it was uninterrupted. I was curled up in the sheets of my bed. It felt somewhat cold. It had felt cold for a couple of days now; ever since Sirius and I had that argument. The door knob turned, startling me.

"Isabel, I - " Sirius walked in the room, and his eyes became fixed on my body. "What are you doing in bed? We still have hours before bed." He walked over and sat on the bed.

"Isabel, tell me what's wrong. Please." I pushed the covers off me and sat up.

"If I tell you everything that's bothering me, you'll get angry, so I can't tell you everything," I said softly. "Do you think being Veela can make someone shallow?"

"You're only part-Veela, and you aren't shallow. What has brought this on?" He asked.

"Molly made some comments about Fleur before. I just wondered if that is how people perceive me, too. I do not want to be known as the girl with the jet black hair who loves herself." Sirius laughed and held out his hand.

"Come here." I took his hand, and he pulled me into his arms. He kissed my head gently, then started to stroke my hair. "You are not shallow, and people do not know you as the girl with the jet black hair that loves herself. People know you as Isabel Snape, the kind, compassionate woman that people can become crazy about in an instant. Rather like me." I looked up at Sirius and smiled.

"You were crazy about me in an instant?"

"From the first time I properly met you. Sure, we fought and acted like a pair of kids, but I knew I had to have you after that."

"And if I refused?"

"I wouldn't have taken no for an answer," Sirius replied, grinning. I laughed quietly and rested my head on Sirius' chest.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, continuing to stroke my long black hair. I missed us being this close. The arguments of the past few days had really taken its toll on our relationship. I wanted us to be back to where we were not long ago.

"What are you sorry for?" I asked, entwining his fingers in mine. I knew what he was apologising for. I just wanted to hear him say it.

"I'm sorry for being a complete arsehole to you over the past couple of days. Things have been tough on you. You were sacked from your job and I feel bad for not giving you more attention. I'm practically locked up in this house. Forgive me if I get a little on edge sometimes. I'm just sorry that you have to put up with me."

"I'm not sorry that I have to put up with you," I said to him. "I adore you, Sirius. No matter how many mistakes you make and no matter how much of a git you can be, that will always be the same. And I'm really glad I have you right now." I put my arms around him and breathed out slowly.

"I'm glad I have you, too," Sirius replied softly, kissing my head again. I closed my eyes and became still. I was so tired that I was falling asleep already. "Are you not going to come back downstairs?" I shook my head and held onto Sirius tighter.

"I'm tired. Can you stay here with me? I don't want you to leave," I whispered.

"Of course I'll stay with you." I smiled as the room became silent. This was bliss for me. This is what made me feel at home. Suddenly, Sirius began singing softly into my ear. It was a beautiful song, a lullaby most likely, that I had never heard before. Sirius was quite the singer, actually. I tossed around to my other side, and Sirius instantly stopped. "Does my singing displease you?" Sirius asked. I shook my head, and my lips curled up as I opened my eyes.

"Nothing you do could ever displease me," I replied.

"Now that's a lie. I do plenty of things that displease you."

"And those are the flaws that make you human, but you wouldn't be the same without those flaws. You aren't perfect, and neither am I, but it's the things you do that annoy me that makes me cherish you even more." I closed my eyes again and sighed. "You never displease me."

* * *

**A/N: The story has passed 400 REVIEWS! Woo! Thank you to all those that review - I honestly love you guys. Let's aim for 10 by next chapter!**

**Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. A lot of stuff has been going on in my life lately - but I'm going to attempt to make it up to you by getting next chapter to you as soon as I can.**

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**Next chapter -  
**_Sirius goes over to Remus' house for a night away from Grimmauld Place while Isabel sits at home, anxious of what they'll end up doing to each other. When Sirius returns, it isn't a pretty sight._


	62. So Much

**Thanks to: LaFlorine, IcyRose66, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle & HPFan for your reviews of last chapter.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Jenna's Funeral by Michael Suby  
**__**Song for the Waiting by Aron Wright  
**__**Turning Page by Sleeping At Last**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The next morning, we were all sitting in the dining room whilst Sirius complained away. We didn't really know what he was complaining about, he kind of just talked and talked. Molly, Arthur, Bill, Remus and I weren't paying attention anymore. You see, Sirius had been doing this a lot lately. Complaining...mostly that he wasn't allowed out of the house.

"I've told you over and over, Sirius, it's either stay in here or go back to Azkaban," Remus said. Sirius rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, like a child.

"I think I'd rather be there right now," he scoffed.

"Gee, thanks," I snapped. "That definitely makes me feel fantastic."

"I have an idea," Remus said. I turned to him and raised my eyebrows. An idea was better than nothing. "How about Sirius come over to my house tonight? It'll get him out of this house, and you, Isabel, can have a break from him."

"Absolutely not," I replied immediately. "It's much too risky!"

"Isabel...this may be good for me. I need to get out of the house."

"What if someone from the Ministry catches you? What if you go back to Azkaban? You're also probably going to get drunk and that makes for an even worse night," I said. I sighed and reached for Sirius' hand. "Please, Sirius. Don't. Stay here." Sirius pursed his lips, then looked down.

"I'm sorry, Isabel. I need to get out of this place and want to get out of this place." He took his hand away from mine and left the room, leaving me with Molly, Arthur, Bill and Remus. I turned to Remus and glared at him.

"What?"

"You know what," I snapped.

"Isabel, I thought it was a good idea, alright?"

"You're responsible if he gets caught."

"I thought you'd have more faith in me, Isabel," Remus said. "Besides, it's not as if we're going out in public, we're just going to my house for a quiet night between friends - "

"A quiet night between friends? Tell me how that goes will you because not long ago I recall you were both wanting to punch the living daylights out of each other." I slammed my fists down on the table and stormed out of the room.

* * *

The day had gone past slowly...quietly. I sat in my room all alone, all day. I had charmed the piano to play by itself while I sat on the bed. The only reason I was so upset that Sirius was leaving the house was because I didn't want to lose him. If he ever went back to Azkaban, I knew he'd never leave. The Dementors would suck out his soul, and his body would stay in the prison forever. I shuddered at the thought. I heard a quiet knock at the door. I sighed; my privacy had been disturbed.

"Isabel," Sirius said, entering the room. He looked a little agitated and worried. "There's someone here to see you." The door opened wide open, and in came a stern-faced Andromeda.

"It's about time we had a little chat," Andromeda said, looking disapprovingly at Sirius and I. She slammed the door shut and sat down on the chair next to the piano. She waved her wand, and the piano went silent. "Isabel Snape, what in the name of Merlin are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" I asked. I was completely confused.

"You and Sirius, what are you thinking?"

"Hey!" Sirius spat. "Andie..."

"Don't 'Andie' me, Sirius. You've taken advantage of Isabel. She's so young, Sirius!"

"I...age doesn't matter," Sirius said, struggling to find the right words to say. I sat on the bed, watching their confrontation. It was awkward and a little scary.

"Can you provide for her Sirius? You are the Ministry of Magic's most wanted man, they are searching for you everywhere! You're both kidding yourselves if you think you're relationship will work!"

"Stop it, Andromeda," I snapped. "Just stop."

"Excuse me?" I stood up and walked over to Andromeda. I smiled at her and took her hands in mine.

"Weren't you the one who went against the Black family traditions? You were asked to make a respectable marriage and you didn't, because you loved Ted. You decided to freely choose who you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, at any expense. Sirius means an awful lot to me. I want to be able to freely choose who I want to be with and if you can't accept that, well I guess I'll have to lose you, even if it hurts me." Andromeda sighed, then her eyes softened. It was like something clicked in her.

"When did you get so mature and independent?"

"When I turned eleven," I told her. "I kind of had to grow up at that point, as you very well know."

"Isabel - " Andromeda started to say.

"I understand why people don't approve of Sirius and I," I told Andromeda, interrupting her. "I get it, I really do. There's the age gap...there's him being an escapee of Azkaban...he's too immature for me..."

"Hey!" Sirius said.

"I've heard it all," I continued, completely ignoring him. "But he means a lot to me, and he makes me happy, no matter how much we fight."

"Look at you," Andromeda said, her frown turning into a smile. "You're understanding this. You're understanding how all of this works, and I'm proud of you. I know I'm not your mother, and you're of age so you can do whatever you want. I just want you to be happy."

"Why does everyone think I'm not happy with Sirius?" I asked.

"Well, I better be going!" Sirius said, prompting Andromeda and I to quickly turn around to face him.

"Going?" Andromeda asked.

"Yeah, I'm heading over to Moony's for a couple of drinks."

"That's not safe," Andromeda said. "It's too much of a risk!"

"Here we go," Sirius muttered, rolling his eyes. "Lecture number two. Andie, come on! Look, if I get taken back to Azkaban it's my fault."

"And you'll leave Isabel heartbroken!" There was suddenly a knock at the door. The door slowly opened to reveal Remus standing behind it. He was bewildered by the scene in front of him. Sirius was annoyed, Andromeda was furious and I was keeping to myself, not wanting to get involved. He cleared his throat and entered the room.

"Sirius...will we be going?" He said. I looked down, not wanting anyone to see how emotional I was getting. I was processing the risk in my head. If he got caught by the Ministry, it'd kill me. Remus walked over to me and half smiled. "I will take care of him, Isabel, I promise," Remus said. I didn't know whether to believe him or not. Sirius and alcohol didn't mix, but Sirius was a big boy, as was Remus. They could look after themselves and I would just have to trust them...and trust them not to beat the absolute hell out of each other. Sirius then made his way to me, put his finger under my chin and tilted my head up.

"I'll be fine. I promise you. Moony will make sure I'm not too much of an idiot." I couldn't resist those eyes. I couldn't resist him.

"Are you sure that's a promise you can keep?" I told him, raising my eyebrows.

"You'll just have to trust me on this one. I know it's hard, but we need to establish trust in each other. I _promise _you that I won't hurt Moony, I won't get too drunk and I will be back home at the end of the night, okay?" Sirius' eyes pleaded with mine. He really wanted this. Who was I to take this away from him? At the end of the night this is what was going to happen, and he needed to get out of the house.

"Fine," I finally said, even managing a small smile. Boys will always be boys. There was no way I could have changed Sirius' decision. His mind was set on going to Remus' for a few hours. I couldn't demand him to stay home and then get agitated because he'd be all miserable. Sirius grinned and kissed me softly. His kisses always gave me butterflies in my stomach.

"I'll be home soon," he said, placing his forehead on mine. "I promise you." Sirius breathed out and backed away from me. He smiled once more before turning his back to us and leaving the room with Remus.

"Are you going to stay for a while?" I asked Andromeda.

"Yes, I think I will...until Sirius gets back. We have some catching up to do. And besides, you should be needing some company while Sirius is out."

"Molly and Arthur are here, aren't they? And Bill?"

"Bill and Arthur left for work as I was arriving, and Molly is making a trip back to the Burrow to collect some things." Dammit. I wanted to be on my own. Andromeda raised her eyebrows at me. "Are you pushing me away?"

"Of course not," I lied. I was, in fact, pushing her away. I wanted to be alone! "Shall we go to the dining room for some tea?" I put on a smile and left my room. Andromeda tagged along behind me.

* * *

Andromeda and I sat in the dining room, but I wasn't focused on what she was talking about. I was

focused on the clock. I felt very clingy, but it was for a good reason. It was such a risk. Not to mention Remus would most definitely have alcohol in the house. It was best not to think about it too much.

"He'll be fine," Andromeda said softly, holding my arm. I nodded, still not reassured.

"Yeah. Yeah he will."

"What's going on with Lupin?" Andromeda asked me before sipping her tea.

"What do you mean?" I was nervous. Andromeda would scold me if she knew!

"Lupin acted differently as soon as he laid eyes on you. Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"No."

"Isabel, darling, don't lie to me. I can see what's going on between the three of you. I saw it on Remus' face when you kissed Sirius. I saw it on Sirius' face when Remus moved close to you. I understand...love is a complicated thing. It has been complicated for me my whole life - "

"Wait, who said I love Remus?" I was lying of course. I knew I loved Remus. I wasn't going to admit it out loud. Just imagine what people would think of me. And I'd be letting myself down. What kind of person would I become if I told everyone?

"Like I said, sweetheart. No lies."

"I'm not lying," I snapped. "I'm with Sirius. It is despicable that you suggest such things."

"What am I suggesting? So you are in love with two people? Others have been there before and have lived to tell the tale. People get heartbroken all the time - but it is better to be honest than to lie, lead them on and break their heart, is it not?" Andromeda smiled and stroked my cheek. "My dear, things are always going to be tricky with men. You need to be happy in life."

"I am happy now," I told her.

"I believe that, but I also believe there is a part of you, and I wouldn't know how big that part is, that would be happier with someone else." I sighed and sat back in my chair. All I knew is the part she was talking about...the part that would be happier with Remus...was definitely there. "There's something else troubling you, as well, isn't there?" What was going on? Was she reading me as easily as she could read a book?

"It is just Father."

"What is troubling you about Severus?"

"When he found out about Sirius and I...he didn't like it, as you can imagine. He has barely talked to me since. I just miss him. All girls need their fathers."

"It'll pass," Andromeda told me, casually. It wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear. "Your father has always been that type. He never liked to show emotion, so he cut everything that would bring out emotions in him off. I promise it'll pass."

"If you say so, _Andie,_" I replied, grinning at her. After a few moments of silence I burst into laughter.

"Don't ever call me that again," Andromeda said, shaking her head at me with a smile.

* * *

Hours had passed, and finally there was movement at the entrance to Twelve Grimmauld Place. There were footsteps in the main corridor, and I ran from the kitchen with Andromeda to see Sirius being carried in with Remus. I sighed a breath of relief. He didn't look right, though. Sirius had one arm slung around his best friend's shoulder, Remus trying to keep him upright. He was drunk. I had never encountered a drunk Sirius, but I had heard stories. Hopefully tonight would be the last I would see him in such a state. Sirius was singing songs...more like slurring songs, actually.

"Thank god. Where have you been? It's two o'clock in the morning!" I said to Sirius.

"He's drunk. I highly doubt he's going to respond to you," Remus told me. I rolled my eyes and took Sirius from Remus. Of course he was drunk. I just hoped that nothing bad happened while he was drunk at Remus' house.

"Did anything happen?"

"No. It nearly did after a conversation about yo-...someone...but thankfully nothing did." Thank god it didn't. "Will you be okay?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, fine. Thank you, Remus." I turned to Andromeda and half smiled. "Thanks for coming over. I loved having the company. It was nice." I felt terrible for practically kicking her out of the house, but I had no other choice. I didn't want her to be around while Sirius was in such a state.

"No problems. I'm always here. Goodnight, darling. Make sure you look after him." Andromeda smiled as she left Grimmauld Place, Remus following her. I sighed and looked at Sirius. He was already half asleep!

"Isabel?" Sirius slurred.

"I'm here, Sirius," I told him.

"Isabel, I'm so sorry. I know you told me not to get drunk. I'm sorry. Forgive me, please. Forgive me." I sighed. At least he knew that he did something wrong.

"Come on," I said, trying to get him up the stairs. We made it to our room and I set him down on the bed. He rolled over on to his side as I sat on the edge of the bed next to him. I stroked his hair and smiled down at him. He angered me so much. No words could describe how frustrated I was with him. But at the same time, something inside me stirred.

"You look pretty tonight," Sirius mumbled. I laughed under my breath and continued to stroke his hair.

"I love you," Sirius said softly, half asleep. This shocked me. This was the first time he ever said he loved me. I smiled as a tear rolled down my cheek. I was happy. This made me happy. My life at the moment was perfect. I had never reacted this way to someone telling me they loved me - this time I genuinely returned the feelings.

"I love you," I whispered in return. I kissed Sirius as another tear ran down my cheek, "I love you so much." Sirius then fell asleep and began to snore. I smiled down at Sirius. This was real - we were real; and knew that I loved him. So much.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait - life has been incredibly hectic over the past few weeks.**

**Sirius/Isabel shippers, are you happy about this one? I had waited for a while for Sirius and Isabel to tell each other that they loved each other. Sirius has never really been a person that commits to things, and Isabel had always been hesitant about love. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Where art thou reviewers? There were practically no reviews last week - THANK YOU to the people that did review!**

**Head to the tumblr page, bellabellex . tumblr . com, for banners, music, sneak peeks, spoilers and more.**

**Next Chapter (you get an extra long sneak peek!) -**

"I understand. I leave you to drink the rest of that," I said, pointing at the silver goblet. I looked around the room, then left Remus to his thoughts. 'I hope that that potion does work Isabel, otherwise we'll be killed. Is it worth risking it for your love for this man?' I shook my head; I was doing it because I loved him as my best friend, nothing more.

Best friend. Nothing more.

"How are you feeling?"

"Nervous. Sick. Scared. About the same as every other time I turn. What happened downstairs? I heard Sirius yell."

"He didn't approve of me wanting to be in here while you change. He said it was too dangerous for me."

"He is right. I don't want you to be here with me, but - "

"I thought we agreed on this, Remus. I am going to stay with you."

"I was going to say before you interrupted me, I think there is another reason he doesn't want you to be with me while I change. He's afraid that if I spend too much time with you, that - "

"I know what you're going to say," I interrupted. "I do not want to come between you two. You're best friends. I beg you not to fight over me." He looked away from me and sighed. "I care about both of you, but I can't have you two hating each other just because of me." Remus turned back to me and half smiled at me.

"I guess we'll have to argue about you in private then. I don't think we're going to stop fighting over you; but for your sake we'll do it in private."

"Remus..."

"I know, I know. I'll back off. Best friend's girl." I felt saddened by his words. I couldn't deny my feelings for him at this moment, but I felt like I was betraying myself. I was fighting to stay loyal to Sirius when Remus was around.

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

"I don't want to see you go anywhere because of Sirius and I, Isabel. I can't lose you." I put my hand on Remus' arm, then rested my head on his shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere."


	63. Full Moon

**Thanks to: IcyRose66, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, HPFan, MissMysticFalls11, ThoughtVortex & siriusly for your reviews of last chapter.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**The Wolf by Fever Ray  
**__**Poison & Wine by the Civil Wars  
**__**We Don't Eat by James Vincent McMorrow**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I was still in a dream-like state from last night. Did it actually happen? Would Sirius remember what happened? Was he that drunk that he wouldn't remember what he said to me? Thinking like this made me upset. I brushed it off. I couldn't think about this now. I had this potion to finish. I stirred in the last ingredient to the Wolfsbane Potion, and smiled when it began to smoke. The blue potion, hopefully, turned out perfect. It looked perfect, it smelled perfect. I carefully poured the smoking potion into a silver goblet and picked it up, ready to take it to Remus. It was exactly a week before the full moon; the timing was perfect.

"Here you are, Remus," I said, placing the goblet on his bedside table. "I hope that it's alright." It was strange that he was living here now; it was even stranger that Sirius was letting him turn here. I put all my effort into making this potion. It wasn't that I wanted it to work, it's that I _needed_ it to work. We couldn't have a rabid werewolf running around the house and killing us all. And if it didn't work, I'd feel worse about myself. I was supposed to make this work for Remus. It would be embarrassing for someone such as me to ruin such a potion. I would have worked so hard for it to come to nothing.

"Thank you, Isabel. And I'm sure you being your fathers daughter and all that it should be more than satisfactory." That warm smile appeared on his face and melted my insides, like always. He really needed to stop doing that to me; it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he was melting my insides, because it wasn't supposed to be him that was doing it - it was supposed to be Sirius. He took one sip and coughed violently.

"Remus...Remus!" I rushed to his side and put one hand on his back, the other on his cheek. I turned his face towards mine, so I could see what was wrong. "What's going on? I thought I brewed it correctly! Oh my god, Remus, I am so sorry."

"Isabel, don't be stupid. Of course you brewed it correctly. That's exactly why I'm coughing. Do you not remember what they said in Potions about how it tastes?" I thought back to my Father's words in Potions class. He had told me that it tasted foul, and that trying to add something to remedy, such as sugar, would make the potion ineffective.

"I didn't think the taste would be that awful," I said.

"If you thought that was bad you should have seen it the first time I had it. I thought I was dying," Remus told me with a laugh.

"Remus? Can I ask you something of you?" I asked him, smiling.

"Anything."

"I'd like to be there when you turn; in the room with you. I want to see the effects of the Wolfsbane...and I don't want you to be alone." Remus' smile turned to a frown. He didn't want me there, I could already tell. I knew it was a difficult thing to ask - and it would be a difficult thing to witness. But the fact that he would be alone for the night, and still in his right mind, scared me. I never wanted Remus to be alone, especially not when he was to go through something as painful as this.

"Why would you want to see such a thing? And it's much too risky. If I ever hurt you I wouldn't be able to live with myself!"

"The Wolfsbane Potion will make sure you remember who I am; you won't hurt me."

"I can't promise you that I won't hurt you. It's too dangerous. The consequences if I were to hurt you...what if I bite you? What would you do then? If I turned you into what I am - "

"Stop thinking about the consequences, Remus. They'd be for me to deal with. And if I were bitten, it'd be my bad luck, and I'd live with it, much like you live with it. Remus, I cannot bear the thought of you going through such pain alone. When it is the full moon in a week time, I beg you...I want to be there with you."

"I don't want you to get hurt," Remus said softly, shaking his head.

"Remus, please." I took his hand in mine. I could feel his tense muscles calm as soon as my skin touched his. Is this what I did to him? Does my touch do what his smile does for me? My eyes pleaded with his. After a few moments, Remus sighed and nodded his head unenthusiastically.

"Okay. However, if anything goes wrong. Even if it's just the smallest thing; let's just say I growl at you, I want you to leave the room, do you understand me?"

"I understand. I leave you to drink the rest of that," I said, pointing at the silver goblet. I looked around the room, then left Remus to his thoughts. _'I hope that that potion does work Isabel, otherwise we'll be killed. Is it worth risking it for your love for this man?' _I shook my head; I was doing it because I loved him as my best friend, nothing more.

Best friend. Nothing more.

* * *

The week had passed, and the night of the full moon was here. Molly, Bill, Sirius and I ate dinner in complete silence. I was going to have to get used to the tension in this house on the full moon while Remus was living here. I took a sip of the wine in front of me, then turned to Sirius. I needed to tell him what was going to happen tonight. I didn't want to. He had been in a fantastic mood all week. It seemed he had remembered what he had said to me a week ago, as he was now saying he loved me every night before we went to sleep. However, whenever he said it, guilt struck inside of me.

"Sirius, I need to tell you something," I said softly. He set his fork down on the table and swallowed the piece of meat in his mouth, then looked at me. His bright eyes softened when they connected with my black ones. Was _that _the effect I had on Sirius? Sirius grinned and winked at me.

"You're not pregnant are you?" Sirius said before starting to laugh. I hit Sirius on the arm, shaking my head at his immaturity.

"Sirius! Don't be stupid. You know how tonight is the full moon..."

"How could I forget?" I glared at Sirius. I wished he would stop butting in. Sirius' eyes caught my glare, and he slid down into his seat. I enjoyed putting him back into his place, sometimes. It was amusing to see when he gave up.

"Now, as I was saying, the full moon is tonight, and I brewed the Wolfsbane Potion for Remus."

"Did you now? That's a very difficult potion. Was it successful?" Sirius asked, grinning. I hit him on the arm again, but even harder.

"OUCH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" I smiled playfully at him, as if I were teasing him.

"For being an idiot that keeps butting in! Now can you not interrupt, please. I brewed the potion for him, but I'm also going to be in there when he turns and I'm going to be there with him throughout the night. I want to see how the potion works, and I just don't want him to be alone," I said. Sirius slammed his fist down on the table, his joking expression turning into a stern look.

"No! It's too dangerous. What if you're bitten, or worse, what if he kills you!"

"He won't hurt me, Sirius. Not with the potion."

"My dear," Molly said. "I have to agree with Sirius on this one. The consequences are too dire to even think about if he does indeed hurt you. How can you be one hundred percent sure this potion worked?"

"Because I'm sure of it, Molly. I can tell when I have brewed a potion correctly."

"I'm sorry, Isabel," Bill said. My gaze shifted over to where Bill was sitting. "I have to agree with Mum and Sirius."

"Look," I told the three of them. "I'm not asking for your permission. I'm doing this whether you like it or not. Remus needs me there with him, and I couldn't stand knowing he'd be alone in there, going through terrible pain, and I did nothing about it." I rose out of my seat and placed the fork I was holding down on the table. "Have a wonderful evening." I turned on my heel and walked out of the kitchen, hoping that no one had followed me to stop me. I stomped up the stairs and into Remus' bedroom. He swiveled around quickly to look at me; but he was different. He seemed a little more distant than usual.

"Remus..."

"Evening, Isabel," he replied.

"How are you feeling?"

"Nervous. Sick. Scared. About the same as every other time I turn. What happened downstairs? I heard Sirius yell."

"He didn't approve of me wanting to be in here while you change. He said it was too dangerous for me."

"He is right. I don't want you to be here with me, but - "

"I thought we agreed on this, Remus. I am going to stay with you."

"I was going to say before you interrupted me, I think there is another reason he doesn't want you to be with me while I change. He's afraid that if I spend too much time with you, that - "

"I know what you're going to say," I interrupted. "I do not want to come between you two. You're best friends. I beg you not to fight over me." He looked away from me and sighed. "I care about both of you, but I can't have you two hating each other just because of me." Remus turned back to me and half smiled at me.

"I guess we'll have to argue about you in private then. I don't think we're going to stop fighting over you; but for your sake we'll do it in private."

"Remus..."

"I know, I know. I'll back off. Best friend's girl." I felt saddened by his words. I couldn't deny my feelings for him at this moment, but I felt like I was betraying myself. I was fighting to stay loyal to Sirius when Remus was around.

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

"I don't want to see you go anywhere because of Sirius and I, Isabel. I can't lose you." I put my hand on Remus' arm, then rested my head on his shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

It was getting more and more late by the minute. My head was still resting on Remus' shoulder. I was comfortable. Warm. Remus hadn't really said a word. I could tell how nervous and frightened he was. I couldn't imagine going through this every full moon.

"Are you okay?" I said softly. Remus looked down at me.

"No."

"Alright, that was a stupid question. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"Do you think it's working?" I asked.

"What's working?"

"The Wolfsbane Potion? Do you think it's working? I'd hate to think that - "

"Isabel, I can tell it's working fine. Now just calm yourself down before you make your head explode." I laughed softly at his choice of words. I smiled and put my head on Remus' shoulder again. Where it was warm and where I felt most at home in this room. Suddenly, something changed in Remus. I could feel him tense up.

"Remus," I said. I jumped up and stood away from Remus. He was changing. I just knew it. His eyes went black, and he seemed a little out of it. He was transforming before my eyes. I hoped to god that the potion worked. I closed my eyes as Remus' screams of pain filled the room. Tears began to fill my eyes, but I didn't want to open them. I was too scared. I slid down the wall and brought my knees up to my chest, then put my head on my knees. I didn't want to see any of it.

It was a long time before the screams of pain died down. I took a deep breath in and opened my eyes to see Remus in his wolf form, standing in front of me. My breath trembled as I stood up. My hand went over my mouth, like I was holding in some sort of scream. I wiped tears away from my eyes and reached out for my friend.

"R...Re-Remus?" I said softly. Remus whimpered and moved forwards. I jumped backwards, frightened. My breath trembled as I walked backwards quickly. Wolf Remus came towards me and lowered his head. He wasn't going to hurt me. I walked forward cautiously and stroked his head.

"Oh my god," I breathed out. I sat back down, and wolf-Remus sat next to me. It was crazy - everyone would always tell you that werewolves are dangerous, but I could find nothing about Remus dangerous at all. I sat back on the ground and smiled at the werewolf. I never thought this would ever be happening, but hey, there's a first for everything.

For hours on end I sat there in silence with Remus. Sure, I was exhausted, but he was more important. He needed to get through the night, and with him in his right state of mind, he would feel lonely by himself. Suddenly, Remus growled and snapped at me. I jumped up and stared at Remus. It was the first sign of aggression he had shown all night. Then, he snapped again, and again, and again. I needed to leave. It was a sign. The problem was, there was a part of me didn't want to. I didn't want to leave him. _'You need to leave, Isabel! He'll understand!' _I nodded at my thoughts and stood right back against the wall, searching for the doorknob. I swung the door behind me open and slammed it shut as soon as I was out of there. I panted and fell to the ground in the doorway. I felt so guilty. I put my head in my hands and started to cry. I was supposed to be in there with Remus, not out here. _'You heard what Remus said, Isabel. He wanted you to leave if you were in any danger.' _

"Shut up, head," I mumbled. I yawned and shut my eyes. Soon, everything went blank.

* * *

I woke up very early in the morning and looked around. I was still sitting in the doorframe outside the room Remus had changed in. I remembered falling sleep here, but I thought someone would have moved me. I ran my hand through my hair and rose from the spot where I had slept. My hand went to my back as a sharp pain ran down my spine. Pain was to be expected when you fell asleep on wooden floors. I shook my head, now wasn't the time to think about me. I put my hand to the door knob, but listened in for any sound first. Absolutely nothing came from the other side of the door; just complete silence. I opened the door slowly, and looked straight to the bed, where a human Remus was lying, covered in a thin blanket. I ran over to the bed and sat myself next to Remus, who was awake and shivering.

"Oh Merlin...Remus..." I stood up and walked over to the cupboard on the other side of the room. I pulled out three blankets and ran back over to Remus, throwing them over him quickly. I sat back down on the bed next to him. Remus moved his head onto my lap and closed his eyes again. I sighed and stroked his hair, hoping that the pain had stopped.

"Thank you," Remus breathed out.

"Ssh, don't. Just rest," I whispered, running my hand through his hair.

"Stay with me," Remus said softly. I reached for his hand and gripped it tightly.

"I told you. I'm not going anywhere." I rested my chin on his head and a tear ran down my pale cheek. I hated seeing him this way - but what I hated more was finally knowing. Finally realising all of my feelings for Remus had returned. I had to admit it to myself, even if I was never going to admit it out loud. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. Remus' grip on my hand lessened as he fell asleep.

It took one full moon to realise I was in love with a werewolf. It took one full moon to realise I was in love with Remus Lupin.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was for all my Remus/Isabel shippers. You've been bugging me for more Rembel, here it is! So, what do you think's going to happen from here? Anyone changed their minds? Anyone moved from Remus/Isabel to Sirius/Isabel? Or the other way around?**

**Our reviews picked up last chapter. Come on guys, try get it back to 10+ reviews a chapter. You were going so well!**

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**Next chapter -  
****It's called Jealousy...and of course, you guys all know what that is! Here's your sneak peek -**

"Oh dear," I whispered.

"What was that?"

"Er - Tonks. I need to tell you something. Something about Remus. I don't particularly think you're going to like it." I wondered at that moment if she knew he was a werewolf. No, I couldn't tell her that. That wasn't my place to say.

"What is it?" Tonks asked me. "He's married, isn't he? Or he has a kid. Or something."

"Uh, no, that's not it." I scratched my head. This was going to be harder than I thought. Tonks looked so happy and energetic. I really didn't want to have to do this.


	64. Jealousy

**Thanks to: ZabuzasGirl, HPFan, The Chaos Legionnaire, LaFlorine, DyinginWonderland, IcyRose66, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, LadyFateContemplatingDiaster and Reader AZ for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**The Friend's Theme (Bill, Charlie, Tonks and Isabel's Theme) [See Profile]  
**__**Better Than This by Keane  
**__**Small Bump by Ed Sheeran  
**__**When You're Ready by Kate Earl**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The small room in Grimmauld Place became lighter and lighter as morning came upon us. For the past 2 hours, I had been sitting on the uncomfortable bed while Remus slept on my lap. I wouldn't abandon him now, the night was nearly through. I rubbed my eyes, as if it were going to keep me awake. It wasn't though. Any minute now I would fall asleep. Usually, I couldn't stand sacrificing sleep. If I could, I would go into hibernation.

"Isabel?" Remus stirred a little, then opened his eyes. "Isabel...you're still - you're here." His tone was full of surprise. Why was it such a shock to him that I had stuck around? He obviously underestimated how much I lov-

Care about him.

"Of course I'm still here," I said with a smile. "How're you feeling?" Remus sat up and coughed. And coughed. And coughed. And coughed. I put my arms around him and rested my chin on his shoulder. "Remus! Are you alright?"

"Yes," he replied weakly, nodding. "It's what usually happens. No matter." He smiled at me. That smile. I wondered if he saw me melt at his smile? Remus cleared his throat when he realised my hands were now on his chest. I jumped up from the bed - my eyes turning towards the floor. How the hell did my hands get to his chest? Oh Merlin, that's embarrassing.

"Well, uh, I'll leave you on your own now. Leave you to get changed and all." I gave Remus a nod and walked towards the door.

"Isabel." I turned back instantly to face Remus. "Thank you." I nodded once more, then left the room. In a way, I was glad that I had left that awkward situation.

* * *

I left Remus to recover by himself. He needed time to gather himself before he saw everyone else in the house. I myself changed, removing my dirty clothes and putting on a clean black dress. I pulled myself out of my room and down the stairs, into the kitchen. Molly and Sirius were the only ones there. Sirius stood up as soon as I entered the room and made his way to my side, placing his hand on my arm. I took my arm away from his hand and stared at him. Moments ago I had told myself I was in love with Remus, as well as being in love with Sirius. Of course I would become uncomfortable around him. How was I going to conceal my feelings from Sirius? I couldn't lose him over this.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked me, his expression full of confusion. He was wondering why I pulled my arm away. I had to be normal. I had to seem normal. If I told Sirius what happened...what I felt...Remus would be left with even more injuries than the ones from last night.

"I'm fine," I replied coldly.

"Are you sure? You seem - "

"I'm fine, Sirius," I repeated, sitting down at the table. Molly glanced at Sirius, then looked back at me and smiled.

"How was your night, dear?" She asked me, patting my hand.

"It was fine."

"Is everything going to be 'fine' with you today?" Sirius spat. I glared at Sirius. I was not in the mood to do this with him. Sometimes he made it so easy to think about actually breaking up with him. The way he treated me sometimes was not the way I should be treated. Sirius was immature. Everyone I had met that knows Sirius had told me that. I was willing to look past that because of the person I saw he was.

"What are your plans for today?" Molly asked me with a smile.

"I have absolutely no idea," I replied. "Do we not have an Order meeting today?"

"I almost forgot about that!" Molly exclaimed, jumping up. "There are so many things I need to do! What am I going to cook? What are they going to want to eat?"

"Molly...Molly!" She turned to face me. She was flustered. "Molly, just make what you want and what's easiest. I'm sure we'll all be happy no matter what you make." I smiled, hoping that Molly would calm herself. Molly leant on the bench behind her and sighed. "What is making you like this, Molly?" I asked her. I was concerned about her. Molly's behaviour was changing.

"Don't worry about any of it, Isabel, dear. Nothing I can't handle. Now, why don't you - "

"Molly, don't lie to me," I told her. "I know when something is wrong with a person, especially you."

"You wouldn't understand, Isabel. Do not push me!" She snapped. I sighed and sat back in my seat, folding my arms. I wasn't in the mood to 'push' Molly. And I definitely wasn't in the mood for any lectures coming from her. I decided to just leave it alone - whatever was bothering her was probably not my business anyway. Suddenly, we heard the front door slam.

"Someone's early," I said, rising from my chair. They definitely were early. The Order meeting was not for another few hours. "I'll go see who it is." I left the kitchen and walked into the long hallway to see Tonks skipping down the hallway.

"Good Morning Isabel!" She said happily.

"Hello," I replied, raising my eyebrows at her. She was very...enthusiastic today. Her eyes were brighter than usual, she wore her hair in her favourite colour...she was just acting a little odd. Tonks tugged on my arm and grinned at me. It was like watching a 5 year old on Christmas. I pulled her into the living room and sat her down on the couch. She couldn't even sit still.

"Yes, Tonks?"

"I have something amazing to tell you!" Tonks exclaimed. I hoped it was something amazing, because Tonks had been having a rough time lately. Apparently she was having a tough time trying not to give anything away at the Ministry.

"What is it?"

"I really like someone!" She told me. I smiled at Tonks. This was big news for her.

"Well, who is it?" I asked. "Are you going to keep it a secret or are you going to let me in on this?"

"You know Remus?" Tonks said. My smile instantly faded. Shit. "Well, I really like him! Maybe more than really. He's amazing! I am head over heels for him!" Tonks continued talking about how much she liked Remus, but I had zoned out. How was I going to tell her? The excitement in her voice and eyes...I didn't want to ruin her good mood. This was the most awkward situation I had ever been in. My best friend was in love with my other best friend, who is in love with me, who I love, even though I also love someone else who loves me back. Bloody hell that is confusing. I didn't want to do this. I ran my hand through my hair and shook my head.

"Oh dear," I whispered.

"What was that?"

"Er - Tonks. I need to tell you something. Something about Remus. I don't particularly think you're going to like it." I wondered at that moment if she knew he was a werewolf. No, I couldn't tell her that. That wasn't my place to say. Tonks wouldn't care if he was a werewolf or not anyway. She wasn't one to be prejudice.

"What is it?" Tonks asked me. "He's married, isn't he? Or he has a kid. Or something."

"Uh, no, that's not it." I scratched my head. This was going to be harder than I thought. Tonks looked so happy and energetic. I really didn't want to have to do this. Did I have to? No, I did have to. I couldn't let her crush for Remus become so big that she would want to kill me in the end.

"What is it, Isabel?"

"Remus...Remus and I...The fucking jackass from that night we were drunk..."

"Dear Merlin," Tonks said as her hand went to her head. "He kissed you."

"He was the first person I worked with at Hogwarts. We grew close and he told me that he loved me. Then, he took off. Left me. And then he came back, and, um, we're still quite close. And his...views on me haven't...changed, either. Tonks, I'm sorry. I didn't plan for any of this to happen. He's my best friend and so are you, and this shocked me. I don't really know what to say. Tonks, I - "

"I cannot believe this, Isabel!" Tonks suddenly shouted at me. I jumped at her raised voice. She had never really yelled at me before. Sure, we've had our bumps in the road, but she had never said anything to me in that tone before.

"What?" I said to her. "I haven't - "

"You have to ruin everything! Why does everyone prefer you over me!" Oh, now Tonks was going to play the victim card. Had her and Remus actually talked beyond the Order meetings? Beyond this house? I wouldn't think so. How was I being blamed for her feelings? For his?

"That's not true and you know it."

"My parents love you more than they love me."

"Aren't you being a bit dramatic, _Nymphadora?_" I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"No! It's not being dramatic. I am so, so, so sick of coming second to you. With my parents, with Bill, with Charlie and now, with Remus! Merlin, Isabel, being friends with you has really become inconvenient for me." Was she for real? Now she was resorting to this? Blaming me for everything? Merlin, she could be over the top sometimes. And unreasonable.

"Grow up, Nymphadora! Not everything is about you! Not all the attention needs to be on you!" I snapped. "Why are you so difficult!"

"DON'T CALL ME NYMPHADORA!" She yelled.

"THEN DON'T ACT LIKE A CHILD!" Our verbal war continued as we shouted insults at each other. The door then swung open, and in came Molly, Sirius and Remus. Tonks and I both froze and looked at the three of them. It was like they were surprised to see us - even though they knew perfectly well we were the only ones in the house.

"What is going on in here?" Molly cried out.

"Why don't you ask her?" I said calmly.

"Oh, because you're all innocent. Isabel is always the innocent one!" Tonks spat at me. I was not going to deal with this immature behaviour anymore. I shook my head and walked past Remus, Sirius and Molly, out of the room.

"Isabel!" It was Sirius who was calling out to me. I stopped, knowing that he would want to talk to me about this anyway. Sirius, and more surprisingly, Remus, then both moved to stand in front of me. They were obviously confused over what had happened. To the both of them, Tonks and I were best friends who never fought.

"What was all that about?" Sirius asked.

"Tonks was having a tantrum. Nothing to get worked up or even worried about," I replied.

"Well we are worried because that's something we're not used to seeing. So what was it all about? Surely Tonks just doesn't chuck tantrums over nothing!" Sirius said to me. I stayed silent. I was not going to speak to him about this. It was none of his business. Sirius looked down and shook his head before walking away from me, without saying a word. Sometimes I really did feel guilty for not telling Sirius these things, but again, this was none of his business.

"You'll tell me, won't you," Remus said.

"Will I now?"

"Yes, because if it wasn't such a delicate matter to Sirius you would have told him. So now, you'll tell me." Remus' eyes were halfway to begging. I sighed, opened the door on our right and pulled him into the small drawing room. We stood in there, silent. I realised after a few moments that my hands were still on his collar. I cleared my throat and stepped back.

"It was about you."

"Excuse me?"

"The argument started with you, Remus. I suggest you go and talk to Nymphadora about her feelings for you. Oh, and then she started saying everyone preferred her over me. Which is complete pixie shit - "

"Nymphadora has feelings for me?" Remus interrupted. I put my hands over my mouth and my eyes widened. Pixie. Shit.

"I shouldn't have told you that."

"And you got upset over it?"

"No. Maybe. A little. Well, I was upset what she said after that. That everyone chooses me over her."

"Do you think I should speak with her?" Remus asked. I wasn't sure. Something inside me felt uncomfortable about having her alone with Remus. I didn't know why, though. Remus wasn't my property. What was this, then? Was this jealousy? Was I so used to the idea that Remus is in love with me that I didn't want anyone else in his life? It was selfish - but maybe this was how it is.

"Do what you think is best, Remus," I replied softly. "You're able to make decisions for yourself, aren't you?" I forced a smile before leaving the room. I wanted to distance myself from Tonks' feelings towards Remus, no matter how strong they were. I went and took my place at the long table in the kitchen for the Order meeting.

* * *

The Order meeting was no less awkward than the events of before it. I didn't speak. Neither did Tonks. We sat there in our own little worlds. Everything everyone else was saying was a blur to me. It went in one ear and then out the other. I could only think of last night, of the events of the week before that, and of the past few hours. My personal life was a mess. I was just lucky Father wasn't around. That would be making it even worse.

"We'll be seeing each other again in two weeks. Until then, keep yourselves safe," I heard Moody say. The meeting was finished. Thank Merlin. I rose from my chair and left the kitchen before anyone else. I didn't want to speak to anyone, or see anyone. I just needed time to myself.

* * *

It had been hours since the meeting had finished. It had grown more and more silent downstairs, so I thought it safe to be heading downstairs. I spent the whole past few hours thinking by myself. It seemed to me that it were better if I distance myself from other peoples feelings and just deal with my own. I wasn't sure what I felt, how could I possibly deal with what other people were feeling? I closed my bedroom door silently and began walking downstairs.

"How were my girlfriends services last night? Good? Did she comfort you enough?" I froze when I was halfway down the stairs. That was Sirius' voice. And he was talking to Remus by the sounds of it.

"She didn't have to be there," Remus replied.

"But you let her stay with you anyway. She could have been killed if her potion did not work."

"But she wasn't, Sirius. It'd be wise to drop this subject."

"No, it wouldn't," Sirius snapped. Why was he being so mean? Remus was his best friend and he was pushing him around like he didn't matter. And it was all over me, again. It was Sirius' jealousy showing again. "Anything else interesting happen last night when you were alone with my girlfriend?"

"No. I wasn't strong enough for anything to happen."

"She's my girlfriend, Remus. Let's just get that straight."

"Has she seen this side of you, Sirius? The jealous part? The part that is complete arse?"

"Shut up, Moony. What parts of you has she seen, exactly?"

"She's seen my strong side and my weak side. She saw the weak one last night."

"Yeah, she saw the weak part of you at the only time she'll ever get to be in a bed with you." This was going too far. I had enough. I ran down the stairs and stood in between the two men. They looked at each other, then looked at me, then back at each other. Sirius ran his hand through his hair and seemed embarrassed.

"Were you listening the whole time?" He asked. I nodded at him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"You're apologising to the wrong person," I told him. Sirius pursed his lips then looked to his best friend.

"I'm sorry, Moony," he said.

"Of course you are," Remus replied. He shrugged off the apology like it hadn't even been said. He turned to me and put his hand on my arm. "I'm leaving. I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you for last night, and I'm sorry about the events of today." Remus smiled before turning away. Once Remus had left the house I turned to Sirius. His eyes were on the spot Remus had been standing in. They were full of envy.

"Jealousy is so unattractive on you," I said to him, disgust in my tone.

"Isabel - " I didn't want to hear his excuses for treating people, especially his best friend, in such a way. I left him standing at the bottom of the stairs. This is what jealousy did to people. People changed - they weren't themselves. I had a feeling people were going to be changing a lot.

* * *

**A/N: And so it begins. Just in case you missed the big message of the whole chapter -**

**Sirius loves Isabel.  
****Isabel loves Sirius.  
****Isabel loves Remus.  
****Remus loves Isabel.  
****Tonks loves Remus.  
****Tonks is Isabel's best friend.  
****Sirius is Tonks' cousin.**

**Yes, it is complicated when you see it like that!**

**There are 14 chapters to go until something HUGE changes the whole story. There are also many important chapters between that time soon! It's getting to a really vital part in the story.**

**Visit the tumblr page, for music, banners, sneak peeks and more.  
****bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next chapter -**

"We have history, Remus," I told him.

"We have more than history. We have a present. We have a future."

"We can't do this, Remus." Tears were filling my eyes. _'Don't cry, Isabel. Don't reduce yourself to tears around a man.' _

"We can't do what? Love each other?"

"I do love you, Remus, I do. But it's Sirius."

Remus was hurt.

"It's always going to be Sirius."


	65. Back To The Start

**Thanks to: Florine, DyinginWonderland, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster and HPFan for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Slow by Grouplove  
**__**Nothing to Remember by Neko Case**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

As day turned to night, Twelve Grimmauld Place turned quiet. Everyone was asleep. Except for me. Sirius laid beside me, but I wanted to kick him out. I didn't want him sleeping next to me after the things he had said last night. I had never seen the part of him that could be as nasty as he was. I turned away from Sirius and sighed. He was the complete opposite of Remus. I had to endure so much with Sirius. I guess I was wondering why I was still with him. It was a good question. Why was I so in love with this man, who could be so immature and uncaring at times? I thought back to the night when he said he loved me. He was drunk. He hadn't said he loved me when he was sober. Did he even mean it? Maybe I truly didn't mean a thing to him? Maybe I was just his play toy while he's a prisoner in his own home? One thing was for sure, I needed to get out of this bed. I threw the sheets off me and stood up.

"I...Isabel?" It was Sirius. I flinched at the sound of his voice. I had woken him. I stopped and turned back to face him. He was now sitting up, rubbing his eyes. "Where...where are you going?"

"Er - downstairs."

"Why? It's the middle of the night."

"I don't exactly know." I sat back down on the bed and pushed my fringe out of my eyes. I glanced at Sirius, who seemed extremely confused.

"What's going on? You're acting strange," Sirius said. "And this is me talking. Was it about today and what I said to Moony? I'm sorry if you took offence to that. I shouldn't have said some of the things that I said. It was uncalled for."

"I don't understand you, Sirius. I don't understand us. Why can't you be more trusting of me? You know I wouldn't do anything with Remus while I'm with you."

"I can't trust him, though."

"He's your best friend. You don't have a choice but to trust him." It went completely silent. I looked down at the ground - I didn't want to see his expression. Sirius didn't have a reply for me, and I didn't want to say anything more. It was weird how quickly relationships could change. I looked back up at Sirius and breathed out. "Did you mean it?"

"Did I mean what?"

"When you said you loved me. Did you mean it? Could you even remember it? You were drunk - but I thought that maybe you meant what you were saying so I believed you." Sirius' silence was scaring me. He hadn't interrupted me at all. What did this mean? "Sirius, can you please say something? Can you please." Sirius was still silent. I guess this was where we stood then. It became clear that I was just a little girl to him that he could play around with. He wasn't honest with me, and he was lying to me. What hurt even more was that I was so in love with him. I stood up and began walking out of the room.

"Please, Isabel, wait."

"What am I waiting for, Sirius?"

"Please sit back down," he said. I stared at the spot I was sitting in earlier, then moved back so sit there. "I've never been good at expressing feelings. In my Hogwarts days, yeah, I had a few girlfriends, but I never really stayed with them for any longer than maybe a month."

"What is your point here?"

"My point is that you mean more to me than any of those girls...and..."

"Can you remember saying it? Can you remember saying I love you?" That was the only thing I cared about. I didn't care about his past. I didn't care about his inability to express himself. I only wanted to know that. "And don't lie about it. I can always tell when you're lying."

"I'm sorry. I was drunk, and - "

"I can not believe you," I snapped. I shook my head and stood up. It was as if I had been stabbed - that's how much it hurt. "Even if you can't remember it, would you have meant it?"

"Yes, I would have mean it! Because, believe it or not, I do love you as well. I'm not doing this with you just because I thought you might have been a little distraction for me. I did this because I thought maybe we have something. And I continued this because I fell in love with you, amazingly. Even if you are a Snape. I'm sorry if I've made you feel anything different, and I'm sorry if I've hurt you." Finally, he expressed what he was feeling. I managed to smile at Sirius. This was the reason I was in love with him.

"I love you, Isabel Snape. You and no one else. Now, you need to sleep because you look like you're about to faint." I laughed at him. He was right. I hadn't slept properly in days. I happily got back into our bed, and fell asleep straight away with a smile on my face.

* * *

When I woke, there was no one else in the bed next to me. I remembered last night and what had been said. It was like we had gone back to the start, and then back to where we were a couple of weeks ago. We were fighting, then we were all better minutes later. I smiled, remembering him saying those three words. He was actually thinking straight, which made it even better to hear. I rolled out of bed and changed. I fixed my hair and did my make up as always, then headed downstairs to the kitchen. The smile on my face faded once I saw Molly standing with Tonks and Andromeda.

"Isabel," Andromeda said once she saw me. She walked up to me, put her arms around me and kissed my head. "How did you sleep?"

"My night was interesting to say the least. What are you doing here?"

"Well, Nymphadora is acting odd. She isn't herself. I'm wondering if you know what is wrong with her. She came home last night and started throwing things around, slamming doors and such." I looked over at Tonks, who looked back at me with disgust in her eyes. She needed to learn how to grow up and quickly. Or did she enjoy pushing people away?

"I don't know anything," I said as I looked back at Andromeda.

"Isabel, I know you are lying," Andromeda said instantly. "I've chatted with Molly this morning. The details weren't important, but the part about you and Dora having a screaming match definitely was the most interesting thing I heard." I glanced at Molly, then at Tonks, then back at Andromeda. I didn't want to make Andromeda distant from her daughter, but I could not lie. It was unfair to lie.

"Yes, Tonks and I did have an argument."

"Here we go," I heard Tonks mutter. I shot her a glare before turning back to her mother. "It was about a couple of people, actually. Including you, Andromeda."

"Me?" Andromeda seemed shocked. Why wouldn't she be? I think anyone would be shocked to hear someone was fighting over them. Unless it was Remus and Sirius fighting over me. That wouldn't shock me because I was so used to it.

"Would you like to tell dear Andromeda why you were fighting over her?" Molly said.

"It wasn't really over her. Andromeda, you're daughter seems to think that you prefer me over her and would like to have me as a daughter instead. Ted as well. Apparently everyone chooses me over her and it's starting to irritate her," I said plainly. I put no extra details on. No shiny coat. It was the complete and utter truth, and it is what Andromeda needed to hear.

"Dora, is that really how you feel?" Andromeda asked her daughter. Tonks crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, like a little girl. I rolled my eyes at her immaturity.

"It is true," she said rudely.

"No, it's not. Of course I love Isabel and see her as an adoptive daughter, but you are also my daughter. I love you very much, Dora. I adore you and I have no idea what makes you think otherwise," Andromeda said to Tonks. Tonks half smiled at her mother, but did not change the way she stood. Her body language was saying everything about her. A little brat.

"Isabel, I'm sorry that you - " Andromeda started to say before she was interrupted by her daughter.

"Excuse me? You're apologising to her? Are you kidding me, Mother?"

"Dora, there was no need to take your frustrations out on Isabel yesterday. It was uncalled for, darling. If you were going to take any frustrations out on anybody it should have been me." Andromeda was right, but Tonks would have never taken anything out on her Mother. She knew it would just get her told off. Tonks never went directly to the root of the problem.

"Isabel Snape, never responsible for anything since 1975," Tonks spat.

"Oh, Dora, be a grown woman for once," Andromeda snapped at her daughter. "Come, we're leaving and we're going to have a chat with your father." Andromeda hugged Molly and I once more before leaving the house with an annoyed Tonks following right behind her. Once the door was shut, I turned to Molly. Molly looked at me, a suspicious look on her face. I shrugged my shoulders at her.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Right." I smiled and gave Molly one nod.

"And Isabel, before you leave, I do hope you and Sirius sorted everything out last night." I bit my lip and sat on the long table in the middle of the kitchen. It was unusual how this table became central to the house. It was just a plain old table, but all meetings, dinners...everything was held here.

"You heard that, did you?"

"My sleeping patterns have been dreadful ever since we moved in here. I was walking past your room to go and make some tea for myself when I heard you two talking. Or arguing. Whatever it was. Just know you can talk to me about any of it. I've been married for many years. I do have some experience in these sort of matters."

"I'll keep that in mind, Molly. I'm thinking I need to work a few things out for myself before I go to anyone else, though."

"Like you and Remus?" Molly asked. Of course this was going to come up. It always comes up. Molly laughed at my changed facial expression. "You think that I haven't seen it? Everyone knows, Isabel. As much as you wouldn't like them to think of you in such a way, everyone really does know. So I shall give you my advice on the matter. You are going to hurt one of those men. You cannot escape that. You just have to think about which one you'd be happier with, and which one you love more. You need to then tell the person that you don't want to be with the truth. There is no way to avoid it." Molly made complete and utter sense. I needed to be honest and hope that I don't end up being hated. There was no way to avoid it.

"Thank you, Molly," I said, rising from my seat. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have some business to attend to." Without another word, I left the kitchen, walked right down the hallway and out of the house. I glanced around to check for muggles. No one was around, so I disapparated.

* * *

I arrived at my destination. It was a small house. A cottage, maybe? My eyes darted around the forest that surrounded the small house. I had been around here before. I swear to it. The smell was familiar. The air was familiar. I shook my head, as if to shake off the thoughts. I wasn't here to play a guessing game as to why I remembered this place. I walked up to the front door of the small cottage and knocked on it. I was surprised that I hadn't been here before. Moments later, the door opened, and there was Remus.

"Isabel. How do you...where did you - "

"Yes, I know. So many questions you must have for me. I don't really have time to answer those questions. I just came over because we need to talk." Remus opened the door wider and smiled warmly at me. I wish he'd stop doing that.

"Come in," he said. I walked in and looked around at the small cottage. It was exactly how I imagined it. It was tiny, neat and somewhat beautiful. And it was light. It was the complete opposite of Grimmauld Place. I imagined this was somewhere that Sirius would like to live. Somewhere free. "Why are you here?"

"I won't be intruding for long."

"You aren't intruding, Isabel. Don't be silly."

"Yes, well, I don't have much to say so I won't be here for long. And everything I have to say, you need to listen carefully."

"Yes, of course." I sighed and clasped my hands together. I breathed in and out a couple of times, gathering myself. I knew Remus was not going to take this news very well, so I had to be cautious with the way I was going to tell it to him. "Remus, you and I. It's complicated. It's always been complicated, ever since we met. We had our fights and our awkward moments and our happy moments. I've seen you at your worst and weakest, and I've had the privilege of being able to know you so closely, and it makes me so happy to know that someone out there loves me for who I am."

"But? There has to be a but," Remus said. His eyes were filled with sadness. I couldn't stop here, though. I had to do this.

"We have history, Remus," I told him.

"We have more than history. We have a present. We have a future."

"We can't do this, Remus." Tears were filling my eyes._ 'Don't cry, Isabel. Don't reduce yourself to tears around a man.' _Now I was doubting myself. Was this right? Was I lying to myself? No. I had to stop this. I had to take Molly's advice. I needed to tell him.

"We can't do what? Love each other?"

"I do care about you, Remus, I do. But it's Sirius."

Remus was hurt. I could see it all over his face and in his eyes. But I had to do this. I had to inflict the last blow, because it was the truth. He needed to hear it.

"It's always going to be Sirius. I'm sorry." I turned away from Remus and left his house, tears streaming down my face. Was that supposed to hurt as much as it did?

* * *

**A/N: Ah, love triangles. Tricky little things. Trust me, even though that last scene could mark the end of the love triangle, we're far from the end of it. There are many more complications between Remus, Sirius and Isabel where that came from.**

**Guys - 4 reviews isn't exactly great. Only a couple of chapters ago you were averaging 10 a chapter! It's my challenge to you to get back to that!**

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The dark night turned into day, and I still was telling myself that everything I did yesterday was right. I was right to tell Remus it was always going to be Sirius. It was the truth. I loved Sirius more than Remus.

It was the truth.

It had to be.

What kind of person would that make me if it wasn't?

* * *

"Isabel," Sirius said, entering the room, panting for air. It looked like he had been in a marathon.

"Sirius!" I sat up from reading my book, alarmed. "What's going on?"

"It's Arthur." Sirius' expression said it all.


	66. Only the Beginning

**Thanks to:toneale'anncurtis, ZabuzasGirl, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, IcyRose66, HPFan, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, MissMysticFalls11, Happy Easter & Tessa for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel and Sirius' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Fire Escape by Civil Twilight  
**__**Pacer by Systems Officer  
**__**The Mess I Made by Parachute**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I didn't sleep that night. How could I? One half of my brain was arguing with the other half. It was like the right half was telling me I had just made the biggest mistake of my life, and the left half was telling me it was all cool, and everything would be absolutely fine. I had Sirius and that was all that mattered. It was true, though. I had Sirius. That should be enough. Why should I need to men to love me when I already had one?

The dark night turned into day, and I still was telling myself that everything I did yesterday was right. I was right to tell Remus it was always going to be Sirius. It was the truth. I loved Sirius more than Remus.

It was the truth.

It had to be.

What kind of person would that make me if it wasn't?

* * *

"Good morning, dear," Molly said when I appeared in the kitchen for breakfast. Sitting on the table, ready and waiting for me, was a plate of toast and eggs. In true Molly fashion, they were perfectly cut, and my knife and fork were already waiting for me.

"Morning, Molly." I sat down in my chair and started to eat the lovely food Molly had made for me.

"How was your night?" She asked. I wanted to say something like 'eventful' or 'shitty', but decided that wouldn't be the best idea. Getting Molly all suspicious of me would be a stupid thing to do. Molly loved to know everything about the people she was closest to, and some things I just really wanted to keep hidden from her.

"It was fine," I replied with a nod."

"Isabel, I am a mother. I have motherly instincts that are particularly useful when I need to tell if one of the people I love are lying to me." Molly looked at me, her eyebrows raised. She knew that I was lying. She put down the tea towel she was holding and sat opposite me on the table. "So, would you care to tell me what is troubling you?"

"So many things are troubling me, Molly. It's quite difficult to choose where to begin."

"Just begin anywhere, dear."

"I don't feel comfortable speaking about it," I replied softly. It's true - I didn't. I didn't want the whole world to know my problems with Remus and Sirius. I didn't want to continuously talk about my problems with Tonks. And I missed Father. That was something I didn't want to admit to anyone. Not Andromeda, not Molly, not anyone. That was a secret I would keep to myself.

"Well I'm not going to push you to speak to me. But you know that I am always here if you need a person to talk to. I think of you as an adoptive daughter, Isabel. I would only have your best interests at heart. Now if you need me, I'll be at the Burrow. I'm going home for a few weeks," Molly said. She pat my hand before rising from her seat and going back to cleaning up the kitchen. I sighed and ate the rest of my food in silence.

* * *

Sometimes I thought of this house as a jail. Every night I wished for Sirius to become a free man, because I wanted out of this house. It was so dark and a little depressing. There was nothing to do except sit and read, or sit and write, or cook, or eat. It became so boring. It reminded me so much of Spinner's End in a way. It was the complete opposite of Remus' house, though.

"Stop thinking of him," I mumbled to myself.

"Thinking of who?" I jumped at the sound of Sirius' voice. I turned around and glared at Sirius. I couldn't stand people creeping up on me. Sirius smirked and sat down next to me. "You really ought to keep an eye out. You never know who could sneak up on you." I smacked him on the arm and turned back to the book that I was reading. "And what was that for?"

"You know what."

"Isabel, what is wrong with you?" I threw my book to the side of the bed and looked at Sirius. I wasn't going to avoid this conversation. In fact, I thought that it was good to be talking with Sirius about my feelings. "You used to be filled with so much joy. You were happy all the time. Now you sit up here by yourself and when you come out of your room you mope around."

"I'm not excusing my behaviour. I haven't been myself. I think it started when I was sacked."

"So it's not anything to do with a certain friend of yours, and a friend of mine?"

"Remus?"

"Isabel, you know how much I love you, but I'm not going to ignore the certain fact that you are in love with him."

"Sirius, I'm not - "

"I'm not an idiot, Isabel. I see him around you. I see you around him. You have feelings for him and I can't sit there and ignore it anymore." Sirius ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. "I've never been good at the whole dating thing. In my Hogwarts days I used to spend a night with a girl and then never speak to her again. I think the longest lasting relationship I ever had was a month, maybe two. I get what you feel for Remus, I really do. He's not a bad looking guy and he's a hell of a lot purer than me on the inside."

"Sirius, please..."

"I don't want to pressure you into anything, but I believe it would be best if we maybe took a break so you can sort out your feelings for Moony and I."

"Sirius, no, please. Don't. I know what my feelings are! I told Remus yesterday! I told him it would always be you! It's been you ever since I met you!" I was becoming desperate. I didn't want to lose Sirius over my confusion. I couldn't lose Sirius over my confusion. I needed him.

"This is what's best for the both of us. You can sort everything out without feeling guilty of going behind my back - "

"What are you saying? That I've been with Remus behind your back?"

"I don't know, have you?" Sirius' tone was becoming increasingly aggressive. The tears started to fall down my cheeks. He couldn't do this to me!

"I HAVEN'T! I TOLD HIM LAST NIGHT I LOVED YOU MORE THAN HIM AND IT WAS THE COMPLETE AND UTTER TRUTH!" I cried, throwing my hands in the air. I needed him to get the message. "If you love me like you say you do, then you won't leave me. You can't leave me." Sirius was silent for a few moments. I had a little hope that maybe, just maybe, he was changing his mind. Maybe what I had said had gotten through to him.

"No." All my hopes were dashed. The little brightness left in my eyes was dimmed by that one word. "I've made my mind up. You need to work out where you stand." Sirius looked around at our room before walking out, leaving me to cry alone.

* * *

My kneels were curled up to my chest. My blanket was over my shoulders. It felt colder than it was. Sirius had taken his clothes and his few possessions out of our room and moved them to another. I was left to sleep on my own. I missed having Sirius' warm body next to me. In my head, I tried to blame Sirius as much as I could, but I knew this was because of me. I had to get my act together and work out what I felt. I closed my eyes and wiped the tears on my cheeks. I needed to sleep. I was exhausted. Not physically, but emotionally. I was nearly asleep, but then the door opened. I sat up and squinted, the light hurting my sensitive eyes.

"Isabel," Sirius said, entering the room.

"Sirius," I breathed out. Maybe he had come to apologise? Make up?

"It's Arthur." Sirius' expression said it all. I threw my sheets off me, put my dress over my revealing night clothes and ran downstairs, ignoring Sirius who stood in the doorway. Something terrible had happened. I just knew it. When I had reached the bottom of the stairs, Harry, Ginny, Fred, Ron and George all stood in the hallway.

"Isabel," Ginny said, standing up. There was distress in her eyes. She was frightened. Ginny bit her lip, then threw her arms around me. I put my arms around Ginny and hugged her back. She needed to be consoled - I wasn't just going to push her away. "Ginny, what's - "

"Do you know what's happening?"

"No, I don't." I looked around at her and her four brothers. They were all still in their pajamas. "When did you get here?"

"We practically just arrived," Fred said to me.

"And now we need to go. We need to get to St. Mungo's," George said. He had his arms folded and looked very, very nervous.

"Where's your mum?" I asked them. "Does she even know about this?"

"Sirius said Dumbledore will probably be letting her know now. We need to get to St. Mungo's, Isabel!" Ginny exclaimed. I put my hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"Ginny, listen to me. You need to breathe. You need to calm down," I said softly.

"You can't just go to St. Mungo's!" Sirius said.

"Course we can go to St. Mungo's if we want. He's our dad!" Fred replied.

"And how are you going to explain how you knew Arthur was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?"

"What does that matter?" George said.

"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away! Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?" Sirius was becoming angry, and so were the twins. I could see it on both of their faces.

"Somebody else could have told us. We could have heard it somewhere other than Harry.

"Listen, your Dad's been hurt while on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it seconds after it happened, you could seriously damage the Order's - "

"We don't care about the dumb Order!" Fred shouted. Fred raising his voice made me jump. I had never heard him speak in that tone before. Ginny linked her arm in mine and put her head on my shoulder. She was obviously shaken up. Why wouldn't she be?

"It's our dad dying we're talking about!"

"Your father knew what he was getting into and he won't thank you for messing things up!" Sirius yelled at the twins. What had gotten into him? Had all his compassion just left him? "This is how it is, this is why you're not in the Order, you don't understand. There are things worth dying for!"

"Easy for you to say, stuck here! I don't see you risking your neck!" Fred spat. That did it. I had to step in or someone would end up with a black eye. I let go of Ginny and stood in between Sirius and Fred and George.

"Stop it, the three of you. The fighting has got to stop." When my eyes connected with Fred's, he backed off, but when they connected with Sirius', he turned away from me. "Look, it's hard, but we have to keep together. Fighting isn't going to help anyone and it's certainly not going to help Arthur. Now lets just wait until we hear from Molly. Alright?" Everyone except Sirius nodded. I shook my head at him. How could he act so childish in a time like this?

* * *

We were all drinking butterbeer in the kitchen silently when suddenly a burst of fire came from the middle of nowhere. A scroll of parchment fell onto the table, along with a single phoenix tail feather. Sirius snatched the piece of parchment and looked at it closely before giving it to George.

"It's from your mum," he said rather rudely. George ripped it open and read over the letter..

"Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are, I will send news as soon as I can. Mum." Thank goodness Arthur was alive. George looked around at all of us.

"Still alive...but that makes it sound..." I didn't want him to finish that sentence, and he didn't. We couldn't be thinking that way. Negativity could not get the best of us.

* * *

Not long after the letter arrived, everyone fell completely silent. All we could do was sit and wait for more news. Sirius and I would occasionally glance at each other. Sometimes a longing look, but nothing more. I didn't see how this day could possibly get any worse. Occasionally, someone would change their position. Fall asleep, then wake up. George moved next to me and rested his head on my shoulder. I didn't push him away. I couldn't push him away knowing how scared he would be for his dad.

So the rest of the night we waited.

Waited.

Waited.

Waited.

Waited.

It had reached the morning, and in came Molly Weasley. She was pale. There were bags under her eyes, and she looked so tired.

"He's going to be alright. He's sleeping. We can all go see him later. Bill's sitting with him now; he's going to take the morning off work." I breathed a sigh of relief. I don't think I had been more relieved for something in my life. I rose from my chair and walked over to Molly. I put my arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"Molly, what can I do?"

"Don't worry, Isabel, he's going to be fine."

"Do you want me to do anything?"

"No, of course not. I'll be just fine." I pursed my lips and nodded my head. Molly hardly ever wanted help, and I just had to accept that. I walked out of the room, because I felt like I was not needed anymore. And I also felt like if I looked at Sirius for just a few more seconds, I would burst into tears. I ran into my room and threw myself onto the bed. After a few moments of feeling the soft pillows on my head, everything went black, and I was asleep.

* * *

"_I love you, Isabel Snape. Now, you need to sleep._

"_I don't want to sleep. I want to go somewhere. I want to explore the world. Come, let's explore it together." I pulled Sirius up out of bed and gripped his hand tightly. I opened the door and pulled him outside with me. Suddenly, we were in a huge forest. It was crisp and cold. I had a plan to cure how cold it was._

"_Where are we going?" Sirius asked as I pulled him through the forest._

"_Everywhere!" I replied, giggling. I continued running through the forest. "Let's play a game!"_

"_What kind of game shall we play?"_

"_I don't know. I don't quite care," I replied, moving closer to him. "As long as you play with me." I smiled and ran away from him. "You have to catch me!" I ran through the forest, laughing. I was having such a good time. _

"_I'm coming!" Sirius called out. I laughed as I felt two hands grab me by my waist. I turned to see Remus, smiling down at me._

"_I guess the game is over. I caught you."_

"_What a shame," I replied, surprised to see Remus standing there. "I was quite enjoying exploring."_

"_We can explore now. Nothing is stopping us. Nothing can stop us from being together," Remus said._

"_We can explore together. You and me," Sirius said, reappearing. _

"_Where shall we explore?" I asked both of them._

"_Everywhere," Sirius told me, a smile on his face. _

"_Wherever the world takes us," Remus replied, also smiling._

"_Together?"_

"_Forever," they both replied._

"Isabel," I heard a voice whisper. "Come on, time to wake up." I stirred and pulled my sheet over my head with a smile.

"Forever," I breathed out. "We shall explore forever."

"Isabel." A hand shook me by my shoulders, and I opened my eyes slowly. I tossed my sheets off me and sat up slowly, my hand going to my head. That was all a dream. Every single part of it. A little bit of me felt sad that it was all imaginary.

"Isabel." I turned to see Remus sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Remus..."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, just a dream. What are you doing here? I thought I wouldn't be seeing you after - you know."

"That does not stop me from seeing you, Isabel. Nothing is stopping me. Not even your words." His words were all too familiar.

"Well, would you care to tell me what you are doing here?" I asked, getting out of bed. I walked over to my dressing table and began to run my comb through my hair. I looked at Remus through the mirror as the comb ran through my long black hair. "How did Sirius even let you in here?"

"I'm going to take you to St. Mungo's with me. I heard you have no visited Arthur yet," he told me. I still found it hard to believe he was facing me after the things I had said to him. "And about Sirius - he didn't reply after I said I came to see you. Actually, he didn't even look at me. He sat there drinking his wine from the bottle. What's wrong with him."

"I'm not in the mood to talk about it. If you wait for me outside I'll be out there in a moment." Remus nodded and left the room without one more word. When he closed the door, I leaned against the wall. Seeing him again after what I said, it was harder than I thought. And after all that happened with Sirius and I yesterday - it was hard to put it all together. And then the dream. And Arthur. How was I still coping? I changed into my long black dress, put my wand in my pocket and fixed my make up. Maybe visiting Arthur would take my mind off things, show me that everything in my life isn't as bad as it seems.

* * *

I met Remus on the front stairs of Grimmauld Place. Without another word, we disapparated. When we arrived, I looked around at where we were. A small alleyway. I assumed we were in London, because it was all built up around us. Remus walked towards the end of the alleyway, then walked up the street on his left. He stopped just a few meters up the road. I walked up and stood with him, outside a shop. The sign said 'Purge and Dowse, Ltd.' It was shabby, torn up, and seemingly abandoned. Was this even the right place? I watched Remus walk up to the window and look up at the mannequin in the window. What was going on?

"Come, stand next to me, Isabel." I didn't say anything back. I just obliged and stood next to him.

"Hello, we're here to see Arthur Weasley," Remus said. What the hell was he doing, speaking to a mannequin? Had Remus lost it? I looked back at the mannequin, and it responded to Remus. It gave one nod and pointed to the glass next to him.

"Remus," I whispered. "There are muggles around." Remus ignored me and pulled me through the glass of the window. I stopped and looked around. We were in St. Mungo's!

"Muggles don't see anything, Isabel," he told me. "I thought you would have known that by now." Remus gave me a small smile. "Come on, lets go see Arthur..."

"Wait," I said. I couldn't hold it in any longer. He needed to know. I pulled Remus into the nearest empty room. I needed privacy for this.

"What is it?" Remus asked me, his tone full of concern. I breathed in, then breathed out. I didn't anticipate that this would be so hard to speak about.

"He broke up with me, Remus."

"What?" Remus' expression went to one of concern, to one of complete shock. His eyes widened as he took it in. "Sirius ended your relationship?" I nodded, trying to smile. I didn't want for him to think I was weak. Suddenly, I could feel tears filling my eyes, and soon after, I broke down, sobbing in front of Remus.

"Why? Why would he break it off with you?" Remus asked.

"Because he thinks I have feelings for you! He thinks that I love you."

"Do you?"

* * *

**A/N: So all of you that thought it was all over for Remus/Isabel last chapter - what do you make of that. And those Sirius/Isabel fans - what do you make of this chapter? Is it all over for them? Or is this just going to complicate the triangle even more?**

**...and yes, I did need to leave it at a cliffhanger.**

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"Remus, I - "

"Isabel, I am a werewolf."

"Remus, I know you're a werewolf."

"Please, let me finish. I am a werewolf. I'm much older than you. I'm poor. I'm everything that you don't need, and you deserve much more than me. But, I feel this way for you. I can not help how I feel. I've never been Sirius. Girls have never been attracted to me like they have been to him. He was the one that dated all these girls at Hogwarts, but I was too busy reading books. I was too busy worrying about every full moon. But somehow, for the first time in my life, I knew the felt something for me back. At least I thought that they did. This could be our defining moment. All you have to do is be honest with me."

* * *

"Why do you have to be so difficult, Sirius!" I shouted. "I don't know how many times I need to tell you that I love - " Sirius pressed his lips to mine, silencing me. I pulled back straight away and stared at Sirius.


	67. It's Changing

**Thanks to: TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, hermywonwon23, LaFlorine, megan, LadyFateContemplatingDiaster**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Signs by Bloc Party  
**__**Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I stared at Remus blankly. His eyes were so hopeful, so bright. I was so sick of having to dash his hopes over and over. It made me feel like a terrible person. "Remus, I - "

"Isabel, I am a werewolf."

"Remus, I know you're a werewolf."

"Please, let me finish," Remus said. He took hold of my hands and brought them up to his chest. I could feel his warmth. His heartbeat. It was beating quickly, just like mine. "I am a werewolf. I'm much older than you. I'm poor. I'm everything that you don't need, and you deserve much more than me. But, I feel this way for you. I can not help how I feel. I've never been Sirius. Girls have never been attracted to me like they have been to him. He was the one that dated all these girls at Hogwarts, but I was too busy reading books. I was too busy worrying about every full moon. But somehow, for the first time in my life, I knew they felt something for me back. At least I thought that they did. This could be our defining moment. All you have to do is be honest with me." He was right. This could be our defining moment.

But I can't. I can't do this. I need to keep running. I can't be that person. I didn't want to be that person.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"What do you mean?" I released my hands from Remus' grip and took a step back.

"We need to go and see Arthur. We're due back at Grimmauld Place soon." I half smiled and left the room. I avoided it again, and even though it made me feel guilty for practically abusing Remus' feelings, I felt okay knowing that I wasn't going to be seen as the person I would most hate to be seen as. Sometimes I had to be selfish.

* * *

I walked into Arthur's room, Remus trailing behind me. Arthur's face lit up as soon as we walked into the room, but my face did the complete opposite. I put my hand over my mouth in horror as I saw his wounds. How could this happen to someone as pure and kind hearted as Arthur? If anything this deserved to happen to me, as punishment for toying with other people's feelings.

"What a wonderful surprise! I didn't know you two were coming in!" Arthur said.

"You're in very good spirits," I said, walking over to his bedside. "I'm glad to see you're looking comfortable."

"Well, I wouldn't mind coming home. I'm afraid this place is becoming very cold. I'm quite lonely in here. But, they saved my life, so I shall be thankful for that." I smiled down at Arthur. He had always been such a positive person. He radiated positive energy - we were all able to become happier and more joyful by just being in his presence. The Weasley children were so lucky to have grown up with a father like that. In that sense, he was the complete opposite of my own father.

"Remus," Arthur said, looking over my shoulder to the man behind me. "You don't look like you're in a very good mood." I tensed up at Arthur's words. Of course Remus wasn't in a good mood. I had avoided my feelings again.

"I'll be right, Arthur," Remus said. "Besides, it's you we should be worrying about right now."

"There's no need to worry about me! I'll be just fine! Now, tell me what's going on at home. Anything important I should know about? How's Sirius?" Arthur looked to me, his eyes bright, a smile on his face. My stomach turned at the question. I didn't know how Sirius was. He hadn't talked to me since he told me what happened to Arthur.

"I wouldn't know," I replied quietly, folding my arms, suddenly becoming distant from the two people in the room.

"Pardon? How could you not know? You didn't have a fight, did you?" I sighed and sat in the chair beside Arthur's bed.

"Sirius and I did have a fight of some sorts," I told him, nodding. "He ended it with me." I looked down at the ground and let out a humorless laugh. It hurt to say those words - even more than I expected.

"Is that man a fool? Why would he end your relationship? You were the best thing Sirius had!"

"I don't particularly feel like speaking about it right now," I said. "I'm sorry. It's just...I don't feel comfortable with this being the topic of discussion. Besides, there are plenty of other, more important things, we can be talking about."

"Of course," Arthur said. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. I turned around to see one woman, and one man walking in. These people were not familiar to me, but I assumed they were working at St. Mungo's because they were wearing the same uniform.

"Hello," the woman said with a smile.

"Hi," I replied, confused. Why was she talking to me?

"I'm one of Mr. Weasley's healers," the woman said. She probably caught my confusion. "Who are you, may I ask?"

"Isabel, a friend of the Weasley family."

"Lovely to meet you. Now, we need to run some routine checks on Mr. Weasley, so I'm afraid you'll have to leave. So sorry for the inconvenience." I was surprised at how polite this woman was. I don't think I had ever met someone so polite in my whole life. The man next to the woman was standing as still as a statue. I wondered if he had even blinked because it didn't seem like it.

"Oh, no matter," I said, standing up. I looked down at Arthur and smiled again. "Hopefully you'll be so much better by the time I see you next."

"Take care of Molly, will you?" Arthur said.

"No problem," I answered.

"Goodbye, Arthur. It was good seeing you," Remus said.

"Be safe, both of you."

* * *

Remus and I had reached the steps leading to the door at Twelve Grimmauld Place. We made it back safely from St. Mungo's, but it had been silent the whole way. I didn't want it to be this cold between us, but I had brought it upon myself.

"I'm not going to come inside," Remus said, breaking his silence. I stopped before I opened the door.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"You keep avoiding it."

"I know I am, and I'm sorry."

"Why do you keep avoiding it?"

"It's best this way," I said. "I promise it is. And I also promise that there will be a day when I give you a straight answer, but today isn't that day. I'm not ready." I went to open the door, but Remus grabbed my arm turned me back to face him.

"Do you understand what I feel for you at all? Do you understand how I beat myself up about it everyday how I have to fight with my best friend because of how much I care for you? Do you understand how much I wish I didn't love you because I am completely wrong for you?"

"I understand," I whispered. Remus put his hand on my cheek and stared into my eyes.

"Then please be honest with me." I looked into his eyes for a few seconds. I could see the hurt. The pain. The desire. I could see everything.

"I-I-I...Remus, I..." I turned away from him. "I'm sorry. I can't." I walked inside and shut the door behind me, then leaned backwards on it. My hand went to my head and I shut my eyes. I breathed in and out to stop myself from breaking down. I had to keep it together. I stood up and walked to my room.

* * *

Midnight.

One o'clock.

Two o'clock.

Three in the morning. I could not fall asleep. My head was full of thoughts. There were just so many things on my mind and my brain would not shut up. After trying to fight my body to fall asleep, I got out of bed and put a dressing gown over my nightclothes, then tip-toed out of my room, down the stairs and into the kitchen. Thankfully, Molly had left bread on the table from dinner. I was absolutely starving.

"What are you doing up?" I jumped and turned around towards the doorway. Sirius stood there, his eyebrows raised.

"I thought you weren't talking to me," I said, sitting down at the table and taking a bite out of the bread.

"I wasn't."

"Then why are you talking to me now? I'm sure nothing has changed at three o'clock in the morning."

"I only asked you why you were awake." Sirius sat opposite me on the table. He held something in his hands. It looked a lot like a picture frame.

"I could ask you the same question," I said.

"I couldn't sleep. What's your excuse?"

"I couldn't sleep, either. Why can't you sleep?" I felt a little nervous to be around him again. My stomach felt like they had butterflies in them, just like when we first became a couple.

"You wouldn't understand," Sirius said, shaking his head.

"Oh really? Try me?" Sirius sighed and passed me what he was holding in his hands. It was a picture frame. A very delicate, fragile one by the feel of it. I looked at the picture. Sirius and Remus were in it, but also a young woman and a young man. I knew who it was instantly. James and Lily Potter. The man looked so much like Harry.

"You think about them all the time, don't you," I said softly.

"It's hard not to. They didn't deserve the fate that was handed to them." Sirius stared at the picture in my hands. I didn't realise how hard this was on him. It happened years ago, but it still haunted him. I only wished I had known this before. Sure, this was never going to go away. I couldn't make him forget, but maybe I would be able to help him handle it better.

"Tell me about them," I said. Sirius smiled at me, but it wasn't a joyful smile.

"They were brilliant. James was a troublemaker, like me. He was clever. Very intelligent."

"Anything else?"

"He was a true Gryffindor. Brave. Loyal." Sirius was getting emotional. I heard it in his voice. I had never see Sirius in such a way as this. "Although, Lily at first thought he was a total dick. She came around, though."

"What was Lily like?"

"She was so pure. It was like she had a heart of gold. She saw the best in people. I remember when she had Harry...I had never seen a woman so devoted to their child like that. She adored Harry. It's a shame that you two never met. I think she would have gotten along well with you. You have quite a lot in common."

"Really?"

"You both see the best in others. And she started out hating James, just like you started out despising me," Sirius said.

"Well, I wished I had known her. She sounds like a beautiful person. Sirius, you must know how sorry I am. I know how everyone goes on about how Harry lost his parents, and about how it's so unfair, and I truly feel sorry for Harry that he never knew his parents, but you lost them too. You lost your best friend. You lost a brother, and then you lost everything. I know that if I ever lost Bill, or Charlie, or Tonks, or Fleur or Gabrielle I would be a mess."

"What about Remus?" Sirius said. He rose from his seat and moved around to sit in the chair next to me.

"Sirius, don't."

"No, I want to hear it. What if he died? How would you react? Honestly." Sirius was pushing it. We were having such an intimate moment, and he had to go and bring up Remus. He couldn't say anything anymore without having to involve Remus in one way or another. It was really bothering me.

"How do you think I would react? It would shatter me. Destroy me. I probably wouldn't know how to react."

"Because you love him. As much as I hate to - "

"Please stop, Sirius."

"No, let me finish. I love you, but I knew when I entered this relationship with you that you had feelings for someone else. You were so torn up when he left you, as was he. I saw it the first time I saw it! You two care about each other. I can see that, and everyone else can see that. I adore you, Isabel. But how do you think I feel about you being in love with someone else when I just want you to be in love with me. How long will I have to compete with Remus for?" Sirius sighed and shook his head. "I don't want to have to compete with my best friend forever."

"Sirius, you know how I feel about you. I love you."

"But - "

"Why do you have to be so difficult, Sirius! I don't know how many times I need to tell you that I love - " Sirius pressed his lips to mine, silencing me. I pulled away and stared at Sirius in shock. He had broken up with me yesterday and then he goes and does this? "What is wrong with you? You can't just do that to me!"

"Why not?"

"You broke up with me yesterday! And we were just arguing. And, you broke up with me yesterday! You can't just go and do...that!" I said, attempting to keep my voice down.

"I should not have broken up with you. No matter how confused you are," Sirius told me. "I couldn't stand sleeping without you. It was cold, and I missed your sleep talking."

"I sleep talk?" Sirius laughed quietly and nodded.

"It's quite cute, actually." I missed this. It had been so long since we had the 'fun' relationship. Ever since this whole Order business started, it had been difficult for us. I missed us having fun with each other. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I grabbed Sirius' collar and pulled him towards me and kissed him. Sirius pulled back this time and stared at me.

"What is wrong with you?" He said, before laughing and grinning at me. "Sound familiar?"

"Just kiss me again," I said. Sirius obliged, brushing hips lips against mine. After a few moments, I pushed him away and rose from my chair. I had an even better idea. "Care to join me in _our _bedroom?"

"...but, we have other people in the house," Sirius said.

"Are you refusing me, Mr. Black?" I asked.

"I just think that maybe now isn't the best ti - " I turned away from him and dropped my dressing gown on the floor next to me unveiling my revealing nightclothes.

"Fine. You had your chance. Goodnight," I said, walking up the stairs. The next thing I knew, I was being carried into our bedroom by Sirius and thrown onto the bed.

* * *

**A/N: I'll leave you and your imagination to work out what happened at the end of that scene, hahaha. **

**This triangle keeps getting more and more complicated. Just the way I like it! I feel very sorry for Remus, actually. Nothing's going the poor bloke's way.**

**Come on, everyone! Only 5 reviews? You were going so well last chapter!**

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Arthur turned on the muggle radio and turned it up to it's full 'volume level,' as he called it. Everyone began to dance. Bill with Ginny, Harry with Hermione, Molly with Arthur, and the rest by themselves; except for Ron and Sirius, who refused to get up with everyone else. Remus walked over to me and held his hand out. I smiled and took his hand. Remus put his hand on my waist and pulled me close to him. It felt so wrong because there were other people around watching us, including Sirius; yet at the same time, it felt so right to be this close to him.

"We've never danced before," he said. "Odd, don't you think?"

"When I think about it, it isn't. I do not dance much."

"I think we can change that."


	68. Christmas

**Thanks to: atlas mountains, MissMysticFalls11, IcyRose66, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, HPFan, LaFlorine and TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this Chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**This by Ed Sheeran  
**__**Distance by Christina Perri  
**__**Quando, Quando, Quando by Michael Buble**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Days passed by, and everything went back to normal with Sirius and I. We had obviously confused everyone with the way we were acting. It was if nothing ever happened. I didn't really object to that. I preferred the 'no questions asked, move on' method. It was much more appealing to me. So now, here I was, walking down Diagon Alley, shopping for gifts. Christmas had approached us quickly this year. I had a list in my hand, telling me who to buy gifts for.

_Father  
__Mother & Gabrielle  
__Fleur  
__Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny  
__Hermione  
__Harry  
__Wood  
__Minerva  
__Remus  
__Ted, Andromeda & Tonks_

I read over the list a number of times, making sure I hadn't missed anyone. I didn't write Sirius' name down because it would put me in a tad bit of trouble if I were to drop the list and someone else would be able to see it. How would I explain myself? There isn't many known Sirius' in the Wizarding World. I entered Flourish & Blotts first, where I would buy Christmas presents for Father, Hermione, Minerva and Remus.

Remus.

I spent all morning wondering whether it would be appropriate of me to get a present for Remus. My head argued that it'd probably encourage him...but my heart said differently. He was one of my best and closest friends, how could I not buy him something? It would be rude of me.

* * *

After hours of walking up and down Diagon Alley, walking into various different stores, I finally bought everything that I needed. Most of the shopkeepers even went the extra mile and wrapped up the presents for me. I was thankful that I didn't have to do that myself. I had left Diagon Alley and was now walking through a park, enjoying the fresh air. I missed the outdoors so much. I was shut up at Grimmauld Place most of the time and only left if it was truly essential that I did. It was cold. Snow covered everything - everywhere you looked was a bright white. It seemed to make everything even more beautiful. I shoved my hands into my pocket and kept walking down the paved walkway right through the park. I could forget all the troubles I was having; all the confusion in my head could be gone. I was able to focus on myself for just a little bit of time.

And for that little bit of time, I felt like my old self. The one that only worried about my sisters, my mother and my father. The less complicated version of me. Sometimes - not all the time - just sometimes, I wished I could get that version back.

* * *

"Merry Christmas Isabel," Sirius whispered. I opened my eyes and turned over to see Sirius, lying there, grinning at me. "Finally, you're awake." He stood up, practically jumping up and down. He was like a five year old child.

"Merry Christmas," I groaned, still half asleep. I wanted to stay in bed, it was too early. I pulled the sheet up over my head to hide myself from Sirius. I was unsuccessful, as only moments later, he pulled the sheets off the bed and stood with his arms crossed, pouting at me.

"Come on, we need to go open presents."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, of course I'm Sirius. Who else would I be?" Sirius replied, grinning. I rolled my eyes, regretting saying that.

"Fine," I said. "I'll be up soon."

"Soon isn't good enough."

"You've got to be joking, Sirius."

"There are presents for you downstairs," Sirius said. He got on his knees and stared up at me. "Please?" I sighed and sat up. Sirius had won this battle. He put his arms in the air, signifying his joy at this victory. He held out a hand to me and smiled. I took his hand, but suddenly he picked me up and started to carry me out of our room.

"SIRIUS, PUT ME DOWN!" I screamed. "SIRIUS!" He ran down the stairs with me still screaming over his shoulder. Once we reached the living room, Sirius set me down on the couch. He rested his arms either side of me and pressed his lips to mine softly. He smiled and pulled back away from me, walking over to the Christmas tree.

"That was your first gift, but I think you should be opening your others..."

"Wait for us!" I heard Molly shout. Moments later, she appeared in the room with Bill, Fred and George. They sat on the other available seats in the room after picking up their respective gifts from under the tree. I was glad that I remembered to put mine under last night. Sirius passed me a pile of gifts. One from him, one from Andromeda and Ted (even though Tonks was written on the small card to go with it, I knew she had not sent it), one from the Weasley family, one from Harry, one from Hermione, one from Minerva and one from Remus. I opened all of them up one at a time, then placed them on the floor in front of me.

Remus' gift, however, caught my eye the most. It was a small, copper jewelry box. On the bottom of it, engraved, were the words:

_This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,_

_May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet._

I could not understand this fully, but I had some idea of what it meant. To be sure I would have to ask someone. Maybe Hermione? She'd be the least judgmental out of everyone.

* * *

We had all joined in the kitchen for Christmas lunch. I was seated in between Sirius and Hermione. This gave me a chance to talk with Hermione about the saying on my gift from Remus. I did dare not ask anyone else about this. Who could I ask? The only person that would be capable of keeping such a secret would be Minerva, and she is miles away, in the walls of Hogwarts. So, as Hermione seated down, I tapped her shoulder and leaned closer to her.

"I have a very important question for you. Perhaps we should move to a different room to talk about it?" Hermione simply nodded and rose from her seat.

"Excuse us, we just need a moment to ourselves. Start eating without us," I said, also rising from my chair. Hermione and I left the kitchen and went into my small room where I brewed the Wolfsbane Potion for Remus. I shut the door and took out my wand.

"Muffilato," I said, waving my wand. Once I had finished placing the enchantment on the room, I put my wand back in my wand-pocket and looked to Hermione. She had a sour look on her face. "What?" I said to her. What had I done wrong?

"I don't like that spell," she said.

"Oh, Hermione, it's just a spell," I replied, dismissing her. From behind my back, I revealed the jewelry box and showed her the bottom, and what was engraved. "Hermione, I need you to tell me who wrote this, and what exactly it means. I understand a little bit of it, but not entirely what its meaning is." Hermione inspected it carefully, and her eyes widened as she read.

"It's Shakespeare. He was a muggle poet. This particular quote is from Romeo and Juliet, it's one of the muggle world's most famous love stories. It's saying that your love is like a flower bud in the summer air, may turn out to be a beautiful flower the next time you meet," Hermione said. "It's a very romantic quote." I sighed and leant against the wall. I knew it was very romantic. It was a beautiful quote - it was just coming from the completely wrong person.

"I'm surprised Sirius found this quote. I'm quite sure poetry isn't his forte, especially muggle poetry."

"That's because it's not from Sirius," I said. Hermione's eyes were filled with shock, but she did not say anything. "It's from Remus."

"Professor Lupin?"

"Yes."

"Why would he - " Hermione stopped herself as she realised what was happening. "I didn't know you two were so close, well, not that close. I thought there may have been something going on while you were teaching together but I dismissed it. I'm so confused."

"I'm sorry. I'll tell you everything, Hermione, but you must promise me that you will not tell a soul. Do I have your word?" Hermione nodded and sat down. I sat down next to her and pursed my lips. This would be difficult to tell. It was a long story. I would have to cut a lot details out. "Well, while Remus and I were teaching together, we did have a connection. We kissed early in the school year but that was about it. The rest of the time we were very cautious around each other. He then decided that we should go our separate ways and left me. I realised after he left that I truly did feel something for him, but it was too late. He didn't speak to me for months. As he stopped speaking to me, Sirius kind of entered my life. We became a couple and I was completely happy. I had forgotten all about Remus until he returned. All my old feelings seemed to have resurfaced in some way or another..."

"So, you don't love Sirius anymore?"

"No, no, no, no, I love Sirius, Hermione. I really do. But, Remus is under my skin and I can't seem to shake him," I said to her. "Hermione, I chose to tell you this because I thought you wouldn't judge me."

"Why would I judge you? Two men have decided to fall in love with you, it isn't your fault. You just have to be wise when you chose to act on things." Hermione smiled, then stood up from the seat. "We should be getting back to lunch. People will be starting to get suspicious." I nodded and followed Hermione back into the kitchen.

"You two were taking quite a bit of time in there. What was it about?" Sirius asked when I sat down before kissing me on the cheek.

"Never you mind, darling," I replied, smiling at him. I turned back to look at everyone at the table. "Now, what were we all just talking about?"

"Umbridge," Fred said. I felt my whole body suddenly fill with rage, just at the mention of her name. I breathed in deeply, composing myself. I would look like a fool if I just let myself lose it in front of everyone, just at the mention of a name. "She's just an awful woman."

"She's taken over the entire school!" George exclaimed.

"Of course she would have," I said.

"Those horrible pink outfits are starting to give me a headache. They're bloody awful to look at," Ron said. I tried to hold in my laughter, and nodded.

"They are bad, aren't they?"

"And the worst thing is the Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons," Ginny said. "She's turned it into a nightmare. We don't learn a thing, we get detentions for doing nothing wrong, and she's turned the classroom into a complete hole!"

"What does she want, that horrid bitch!" I said.

"Isabel!" Molly snapped. "Language, please."

"Oh, Molly, they're all old enough. They probably use it to. I bet you use it sometimes!" Molly huffed and went back to eating her food.

* * *

Everyone had left for St. Mungo's to visit Arthur, leaving Sirius and I alone. We sat in the lounge room, quietly. His warm arms were wrapped around me, and my head rested on his arm. I had bewitched the piano to play slow and quiet Christmas carols. The fire was heating the cold room up, and I could have almost fallen asleep. It seemed perfect. Everything looked perfect, but I didn't feel perfect. There was a big part of me missing, and I didn't know what it was.

"Are you tired already?" Sirius said softly, but his tone sounded like he was making fun of me.

"No, I'm just comfortable," I replied to him.

"Would you be more comfortable in bed, with me, alone, under the sheets..."

"Sirius, I'm not in the mood for any sexual jokes..."

"I wasn't joking," he said. I rolled my eyes at him and ignored it. That was the best way to deal with him when he was acting childish - just ignoring it.

After a couple of more hours, everyone returned to Grimmauld Place, including Remus. I greeted him with a hug. It was genuine and warm, just like he was.

"Did you receive my gift?" He asked. I nodded and turned on a smile. It would be too awkward to bring up the quote now.

"It was lovely. Your present from me is under the tree, would you like to open - "

"We're not opening any gifts right now!" Molly called out. Of course she was listening to our conversation...

"Why not?" I asked her. She, and everyone else, walked into the lounge room.

"Because we are going to do something traditional in the Weasley household." I turned to Bill, who was standing next to a muggle radio. I had only seen one of these once in my life. Bill turned on the muggle radio and turned it up to it's full 'volume level,' as he called it. He said that he had learned how to use it from Arthur, who was becoming an expert in muggle radios. When the music started to sound from the radio, everyone began to dance. Bill with Ginny, Harry with Hermione, Molly with Ron, and the rest by themselves; except for Sirius, who refused to get up with everyone else. Remus walked over to me and held his hand out. I smiled and took his hand. What did I have to lose by dancing with him? Remus put his hand on my waist and pulled me close to him. At that moment, I not only lost my train of thought, I lost all coordination. It felt so to be this close with him while other people were watching, but, at the same time, I enjoyed the intimacy. In a way, it felt right.

"We've never danced before," he said. "Odd, don't you think?"

"When I think about it, it isn't. I do not dance much."

"I think we can change that." He twirled me around and brought me back towards him, swaying with me slowly. "Not bad," he said with a grin. "However, we can work on it a little more." He spun me around once again while I laughed and took the experience in. I had to admit, I was enjoying myself. He stopped me and his hand went to my waist again.

"Better," he said. "Who said you could not dance?" He moved with me, looking down at me as we danced.

"I'm more interested to know who taught you how to dance, Mr. Lupin. The very fact you are able to dance intrigues me," I replied softly to him. I wanted the conversation between us to be private, so I lowered my voice. It'd be better not to leave the room. If we did, everybody would begin to get suspicious.

"You're also quite the dancer, Isabel," Remus said to me. He smiled, and it melted my insides. Everything didn't matter from then on. It was like he was the only one in the room with me. My cares that Sirius would become annoyed just faded away. I _liked _that Remus was this close to me; that the moment we were sharing was this intimate. I _liked _the way his smile affected me so. I _liked _the way Remus was making me feel.

"I'm not as good as you," I told him. "You are fantastic. Now, I shall ask you again. Who taught you how to dance?"

"It's not important."

"It is to me," I said. I looked up at him, my eyes bright and wide. I hoped that he would fall for it.

"There are some things that are meant to stay a secret," Remus said softly. "Like where I learned to dance. Maybe I will tell you one day, but those eyes don't fool me." It amazed me how he could see right through me. I laughed as Remus twirled me around again. We stopped when I grabbed my waist again. He smiled down at me, his eyes hopeful that I would do something.

"Remus, I - "

"Excuse me." Remus and I froze at the sound of Sirius' voice. We turned at the same time to face him. He had his hand held out to me, and he was smiling.

"Yes, Sirius?" I asked.

"May I have this dance, Miss. Snape?" He asked me, his eyes full of hope that I would accept his offer. I was having such a wonderful time dancing with Remus that I was reluctant to stop.

"I thought you were refusing to dance," I replied bluntly. Sirius frowned at me, and the hope in his eyes dimmed at my words.

"Is it a crime for a man to ask his woman to dance?" I let go of Remus' hand and stepped towards Sirius. I guess I should dance with the man I was in a relationship with. I looked back at Remus, who seemed saddened.

"Thank you for the dance, Remus," I said, half smiling. I turned back to Sirius and started to dance with him. He was not nearly the dancer with Remus was. He didn't move as gracefully, and the moment wasn't as intimate with him. I looked over Sirius shoulder at Remus.

"I'm sorry," I mouthed to him. Remus gave one nod and turned away. I sighed and continued to dance with Sirius, wishing that I was dancing with Remus instead.

* * *

**A/N: 450 reviews! *gets up and runs around my chair Joe Moses/Snape - Potion Master's Corner style* 500, you're next! (note: we only had seven reviews for last chapter, let's pick that number up to double figures!)**

**Speaking of Joe Moses/Snape, did anyone pick up on my AVPS reference during Christmas lunch there?**

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**Next Chapter -**

"Emergency meeting - NOW!" Moody exclaimed, walking through the hallway.

"Mad-Eye?" I said. "What's going on?"

"There's been a mass breakout at Azkaban."

"What, are you serious? Who escaped?"

"Death Eaters. Including Bellatrix Lestrange."


	69. A New Year, A Darker Turn

**Thanks to: TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, claudine, Tessa, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, HPFan, LaFlorine, IcyRose66 & Lily Luna Severus Allen Snape for your reviews of last chapter.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Run Baby Run by Garbage  
**__**This Woman's Work by Greg Laswell**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The kids were heading back to Hogwarts today. I could tell Sirius was a little upset about Harry having to go back to Hogwarts. He was happy to have his god-son around. Harry really was, apart from Andromeda (who he barely got to see), the only real family that Sirius had left. It was the same for Harry, too. Sirius was the only real family Harry had left. They were good for each other. You only could hope for both of them that everything was going to turn out okay. I walked down the stairs to the doorway. Fred, George, Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron all stood there, saying their goodbyes.

"Isabel!" Ginny said. Ginny ran over to me and put her arms around me. Her show of affection surprised me - we had never been that close. I guess these holidays had brought people together, even if it was unexpected. Ginny smiled, then made way for Hermione, who also, surprisingly, hugged me very tightly.

"Follow what you believe is right," she whispered to me. I nodded and let her go.

"Have a good rest of the year. Try not to let Umbridge get you down too much," I said.

"Oh, that'll be impossible, I think," Ginny replied.

"We'd rather you be there teaching instead," George said.

"I think everybody would, even some of the Slytherins," Ron said, nodding his head. He leant against the wall behind him and folded his arms. "Umbridge is just getting too bloody hard to handle."

"Look, all you have to do is look out for each other and you'll be fine. Don't let her get to you." I smiled at all of them, hoping it would instill just a little bit of hope in them. They needed it.

"Come on, come on! It's time to go!" Molly said to her children, Hermione and Harry. She opened the door, and behind it, standing on the stairway in the snow, was Tonks and Remus. I first made eye contact with Tonks. A second later, she ripped her eyes away from mine. I sighed. I just wanted my best friend back. I knew she liked Remus, a lot, but I didn't want to lose her over a man. It just wasn't worth it - all those years of friendship. My eyes then went to Remus, who, of course, was staring right back at me. His eyes said more than any words could. The same want in his eyes that was present during our dance on Christmas burned brightly. Somehow, his desire for me only heightened my desire for him.

_No._

I shook the thought off. I did not desire him. I desired _my boyfriend_. I desired _Sirius. _Not Remus. Remus turned away from me when Harry, Hermione and the Weasley children walked out the door. After they did, Tonks closed the door behind her, not looking my way. I bet she was enjoying the alone time with Remus. I glanced at Sirius. His eyes were full of sadness. I let a small smile appear on my lips. I liked it when he showed emotion. It showed me a side of him that I wished that I could see more often.

"Well, I believe we should be leaving too," Mr Weasley said, looking at his wife, then back at Sirius and I.

"Really? So soon?" I said. I didn't want to lose them, either, to be honest. Molly had been a good source of support, and Arthur was always so joyful. I didn't want to lose the joy that brightened up this dull house.

"I'm afraid we must," Molly told me, bringing me into one of her famous tight and warm hugs. "But we'll be over to visit soon. I promise." Molly released me and smiled brightly. Soon enough, her and Arthur were on their way, leaving Sirius, Twelve Grimmauld Place and myself alone. Sirius sighed and looked at the front door.

"Are you okay, darling?" I asked Sirius, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"I'll just miss him. All of them."

"I'll miss them too," I replied. "But we have each other. And soon enough it'll be Summer holidays, and they'll be back here. Maybe, if everything goes alright, we'll be able to visit the Burrow. Getting out of this house for a change would be lovely, don't you think?" I hoped that these comforting words would brighten his mood up.

"Yes, yes," he said to me, practically ignoring what I had just said. "Well, at least I still have you." Sirius kissed my head and put his arm around me. "You don't know how thankful I am that you're here with me. I wouldn't know what to do without you. You are so, so special to me." He kissed my head a few more times and then left the room.

"You're special to me, too," I whispered.

* * *

Potion making. It calmed me down, and let me have my alone time when it was needed. My own respite when anything and everything began to take it's toll on me. I added ingredients to the cauldron, smelling and stirring my new creation. The liquid I had created was beautiful, like golden silk crossed with a rose. _Knock, knock, knock. _The sound of knocking on the door woke me up from my own little world. I placed my wand down next to my cauldron and looked to the door.

"Come in," I said softly. The door opened slowly, then in walked Remus. I was surprised to see him here. I wasn't expecting a visit from him. "Hello, Remus. Excuse my poor manners, but, what are you doing here?"

"I was feeling alone, I just wanted to come and pay a small visit," he replied with a smile that melted my insides. I nodded, feeling obvious tension between us. Ever since that dance...ever since his hand went to my lower waist...

_No. Stop thinking like that. Stop feeling like that._

I coughed, stopping myself from thinking about that exact moment anymore. In fact, I tried to stop myself from thinking about any intimate moments I had shared with Remus. "Well," I said, "it's very nice of you for wanting to stop by. I appreciate the company." I smiled and went back to testing my potion. I was trying to stay away from all the talk about our feelings. It wouldn't end well. Why couldn't we just talk normally without having to go into the dangerous territory of speaking about our feelings?

"What is this that you are making?" He asked me.

"I'm just experimenting. Would you like to see it?" I moved away from my cauldron to make room for Remus so he was able to see and smell the potion that I had created. First, he smelled the potion, taking in its sweet aroma. He then stirred the potion around, and the look on his face showed me that he was surprised at the texture of the potion.

"This is incredible," he said, looking at me. I took the compliment lightly. It wasn't that special. The potion had no real purpose.

"Thank you," I replied. "It's nothing, though..."

"You don't have to be so modest around me," he said, flashing a grin at me. I wondered what had Remus in such a happy mood today. I had not seen him so full of joy in so long. I was curious, was this just an act? Was it all genuine? I really had to stop questioning people's motives...especially Remus'. He wasn't doing anything wrong by being happy. I leant against the wall and watch him take in my potion. He took in the smell, and stirred it, his eyes fixed on inside the cauldron. It was odd to see someone appreciate and care about my work in the way he was. No one had been this interested in any of my potions, except Father when he was teaching me at Hogwarts. Not even Sirius cared this much. He turned towards me, and his eyes connected with mine. A small smile appeared on his face when he realised that I had been staring at him for the past few minutes.

"It's beautiful," Remus said softly.

"Don't be silly," I scoffed, walking over to him, and my cauldron. "A potion cannot be beautiful. Sure, I believe it is an art, but I do not believe it is a beautiful art. It's more like a puzzle. It had many ingredients, the pieces, that need to be put together perfectly to make it whole. To make it mean something. It is not beautiful. It's just something that I have created because I felt I needed to make something whole."

Remus laughed quietly, seemingly to himself, and shook his head at me. I didn't find anything particularly funny...

"Isabel, you are one of the most clever people I know, but every so often I feel I need to disagree with you. This here, inside the cauldron, is a creation that has come straight from your imagination. The imagination is possibly the most important part of the human body. It allows us to think in ways we would never think. It allows us to dream. Your imagination has created this potion, which smells of tenderness, compassion, care and closeness - just some of the things that you hold most dear to you. This potion is beautiful because you are the one who put your love into this liquid, which in the process made it become so much more than what you originally set it out to be. It is beautiful because you are beautiful." Remus took hold of my hand, causing me to freeze. What he had just said had sunk in with his touch. He appreciated my work more than anyone else ever could, and he gave it meaning. He gave _my _potion _meaning_. Remus gave that one part of me, that I found it difficult to show everyone else, meaning. Everything Remus said was true. He was able to see something in my potions, and in me, that I couldn't see. I looked down at our entwined hands. My breathing became erratic...heavier. My heart pounded even faster. I took my hand away from his, and could see the disappointment on his face.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. "I just...I can't."

"I get it," Remus told me, seemingly dejected. "It's Sirius."

"Remus...please," I breathed out. "I don't want to do this again. I don't want to go over this again." Remus ignored me and stepped away from me, wanting to leave the room. He pursed his lips and nodded, his eyes sad and dull. His eyes were the complete opposite of what they were when he had walked into the room. It was like there were dementors around, and all the joy had been sucked out of him. This was all because of me...

"I think I should be leaving. I know where I'm not wanted."

"Remus, don't be stupid. You are wanted. I want you here."

"Not in the same way as you want Sirius, though, is it?"

"Can we please stop making this about my relationship with Sirius? It's utterly ridiculous. He's not here right now, you are. I am spending time with you. There comes a time where you just have to let it go, Remus!" I sighed and my head fell into my hands. I was so upset about this. I never wanted this to turn into yet another fight about my relationship with Sirius. "I just want you to be here, but I don't want to fight with you or talk about Sirius." Remus sighed, put his arms around me and kissed my head.

"I'm sorry...but I have to leave," Remus said. He put his hands on my shoulders and stepped back, staring directly at me. "I understand. It's always going to be Sirius." Remus dropped his arms and then left the room without saying another word. I wanted to run after him, and scream at him that he needed to come back. But I couldn't. My legs wouldn't move, my mouth wouldn't open. I just let him go...like I always did. I was just lucky that he kept coming back.

* * *

It was a quiet night at Grimmauld Place. It wasn't long until I was going to head to bed with Sirius. I was exhausted after a long day of cleaning the house. It's a wonder that this house is still livable ,really. The amount of disgusting creatures that I find all around the house is ridiculous. I was finishing my tea in the kitchen when I could hear someone slam the front door. I jumped out of my seat and held my wand in front of me. I slowly reached over to open the door to the hallway.

"Emergency meeting - NOW!" Moody exclaimed, slamming the door to that I had hold of open. I practically flew back into my seat, and looked up at him in complete shock. An Order meeting wasn't scheduled until a week now. What was this emergency meeting going to be about? I hadn't heard anything too distressing to cause an emergency meeting.

"Mad-Eye?" I said, completely confused. "What's going on?" He ignored me as he watched the other Order members pile into the kitchen. Molly, Arthur, Bill, Remus, Tonks, Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge, Mundungus Fletcher, Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Kingsley, and even Hagrid, Father and Dumbledore all walked into the room and sat around, staring at Mad-Eye and Dumbledore. This was definitely important. Just as Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something, Sirius appeared and sat down next to me, slinging his arm around my shoulder, earning a death stare from Father.

"So, what have I missed?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing to incompetent fool, now shut up and let Dumbledore speak," my father spat. Sirius was about to reply, but my hand went to his cheek and I turned his face towards me. I didn't say anything, but my eyes pleaded with him. I didn't want him to say anything. He didn't need to say anything. All he needed to do was ignore it and be quiet. We obviously had more pressing issues. After a few more moments, he nodded at me, glared at Father, but was silent.

"So, what have we been called here for?" Hestia Jones asked. "It is very late. It must be of the upmost importance, Dumbledore."

"There's been a mass breakout at Azkaban." The whole room fell completely silent. Everyone looked towards each other, in complete shock. We all knew who escaped, but we just needed to hear it from him.

"What, are you serious? Who escaped?" Bill said quietly.

"Death Eaters. Including Bellatrix Lestrange." That was what we had been waiting for. This had been planned by You-Know-Who, and this was another stepping stone. It was only a matter of time that we were going to be engaged in an all-out war now that these Death Eaters had escaped. Especially Bellatrix. I had heard stories about her. Awful, terrible stories.

"Is there anything else we should now,"

"Fudge does not believe that You-Know-Who is behind this mass breakout," Dumbledore told us. It wasn't a surprise. Fudge never wanted anything to do with the truth. Once a liar, always a liar. "There is one more important thing concerning the Order that you should all know. Shacklebolt, would you like to tell them what you had overheard in the Ministry just moments after the breakout?" Kingsley nodded at Dumbledore and turned to the rest of us.

"Minister Fudge is blaming Sirius for the breakout.."

"What?" I whispered. I turned to Sirius, who sat in his seat, frozen. I took his hand in mine and gripped it tightly, making it known that I was still here with him.

"It doesn't surprise me," Remus said, breaking his silence.

"What do you mean it doesn't surprise you? Remus, this isn't the time for - " I started before I was cut off.

"Well, he's the only one that has escaped Azkaban before, and Bellatrix is his cousin. Everyone except for us thinks he's a murderer and also a follower of You-Know-Who. I am not surprised at all." Remus' points were all valid. Of course they would be thinking like that. I rested my head on Sirius' shoulder. I wanted to comfort him. I couldn't imagine how horrible he'd be feeling.

"I suggest you all keep yourselves scarce. Especially you, Remus. Now, that's all we have, and I shall let you know of any progresses soon," Dumbledore said. He rose from his seat and left the room quickly, leaving the rest of us in his wake. We were all in shock. Well, all of us except Remus and Father. As people started filing out of the room, I stood up and walked over to Father.

"Father!" I said, stopping him from leaving. Father stopped in his tracks and turned to face me. As crazy as it sounded, I missed seeing his face everyday. "Father, it's good to see you."

"Isabel, I have to go. I cannot stay." Again, he tried to leave, but I stopped him once more.

"I need to speak to you! Do you not even care about me anymore? I have not seen you for months and you brush me off like I am a disease! What is the problem, Father?" I asked him. I was desperate for a reply...anything. I missed my Father, and it hurt when he acted like I was just a stain that needs to be removed.

"Isabel, I must go!"

"Are you not staying to speak with me because I am with Sirius? I thought you were more mature than that." I tried to hold back my tears. I didn't want anyone to see me cry. "If you have such important things to attend to, more important than your own daughter, then leave and leave now. I do not want you around me." Father stared at me for a few moments. He looked as if he was about to say something, but he just turned away and left, the last person to do so. When he had shut the front door, I fell into Sirius' lap and cried.

* * *

**A/N: I am so sorry for the VERY long wait for this chapter, guys. A very bad case of Writer's Block here...and just generally being too busy to write. I hope it wasn't a let down!**

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**Next Chapter -**

_Blood. This was blood. Where was she? What had he done to her?_

Isabel goes to visit one of her FEMALE relatives and finds that nobody is there. She instantly becomes worried and searches for her.


	70. Have Strength

**Thanks to: ZabuzasGirl, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, HPFan, LadyFateContemplatingDiaster, ludicrousfools, Sevvy Wevvy's love, Tessa & TheDiva121 for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel and Sirius' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Help, I'm Alive by Metric  
**__**I Was Wrong by Sleeperstar**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

It was another day, and it seemed like any other day that I had woke up. Everything, though, was different. Father wanted nothing to do with me, Sirius had been blamed for a breakout of Death Eaters, tension between Remus and I was coming to a point. Everything was the same, but everything was different. I think I needed a day away from all of this confusion. I wasn't the one who had to stay locked up in this house, anyway.

The question was, what was I going to do? See Andromeda? No, that would mean I would have to run the risk of seeing Tonks. I wasn't prepared for that yet. Go for a stroll through the parks and Diagon Alley? No, it was risky to be by myself. Then, it popped into my head. Sure, the idea was a little scary and a little dangerous, but it could also be very rewarding.

I would go and see Grandmother.

I wasn't close with her at all, but I guess I needed to know if she was still alive. Tobias was a muggle, what could he do to hurt me? Nothing. A wave of my wand and that was him ago. She was my family. Even if Eileen had been horrible to Father when he was younger, I still had her blood running through my veins. Prince blood. She had been nothing less than lovely when I first met her. And, I also wondered how she was going. I was worried about her. Tobias was an absolute bastard. He hit her and treated her badly, and yet she still went back to the man. Why was she so afraid to stand up for herself? So, I got out of bed, got dressed and prepared all of my things. When I left my bedroom, I could smell something. Something a little too pleasant...it made me suspicious. I walked down the stairs slowly and walked into the kitchen to see Sirius cooking.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" I asked, looking at all the pots and pans he was using, and all the food he had successfully cooked.

"Making breakfast, and starting on lunch, just for you," he replied with a huge grin.

"Oh, Sirius, I have to head out. I'm so sorry..."

"It better be good! Otherwise, I have slaved away in this kitchen for hours for nothing!" I walked over to him and kissed him softly to calm him down.

"I know and I'm sorry, but this is important."

"Where might you be going, may I ask?" Sirius said, raising his eyebrows.

"My grandparents. Well, mostly my grandmother. I'm concerned for her so I am going to see her. I know you don't understand - "

"I understand completely. You'd do anything for the family that you have left, and you'd do anything for the ones that you know love you. I'll just save this food and we'll have it another time. How about that?" I nodded, and he smiled and kissed my head gently. "You're beautiful," he whispered. "I just wish I could have you here to myself all day. Be safe, won't you?"

"I promise." I kissed him one last time before leaving the house, then apparating away.

* * *

When I arrived outside the house, I immediately regretted being here. I was not close to Eileen, I didn't have to do this. Yet, I found my feet carrying me towards the front door. _'Oh well, I'm here, no turning back,'_ I thought to myself. I breathed in deeply and proceeded to knock on the door. Much to the opposite of last time I was here, no sounds were heard. I waited, and waited some more, but there was no response. No one opened the door; there wasn't even someone yelling out at me to come inside. I knocked again, and waited, but there was no response. I carefully reached out and tried to open the door, but it was locked. I took out my wand and pointed it at the lock.

"Alohomora," I whispered. The door opened slowly to reveal pitch black darkness. What was going on? I had a strange feeling about this...an off feeling. "Lumos." The tip of my wand lit up so I could see. When I stepped forward and looked around, I couldn't believe my eyes. The walls had been kicked in, the furniture was destroyed, and was covering every inch of the floor. There was shattered glass everywhere. I walked slowly into the kitchen, stepping around every obstacle in my way. The kitchen was just as bad as the hallway and the living room. There were smashed plated everywhere, the cutlery had been thrown all over the floor. Dirty dishes were stinking up the room, and there was a knife. It sat in the middle of the bench, all by itself, nothing surrounding it. I had a very bad feeling about this. I walked carefully to the bench and picked up the knife. Blood. This was blood.

Where was she?

What had he done to her?

"Tobias, you bastard," I whispered, inspecting the knife. It was a little rusty, but extremely pointy. If Eileen had been the one that was stabbed, I'd be surprised if she was still alive. I put down the knife and ran my wand over it, getting rid of all of my finger prints. I then made my way into the other rooms to check if they were here...or there were any clues of their whereabouts.

In both of the two bedrooms, there was nothing but ruined furniture strewn all over the floor. No signs of Eileen or Tobias. The bathroom was the same, but this time there was blood evident on the mirror and the shower door. What the hell was I going to do?

As I was walking out of the bathroom, I looked at the wall opposite me to see a piece of parchment stuck to the wall. I took the sheet of parchment off the wall and opened it carefully.

_Help.  
__West Hill, south of Dovetown._

I read over this note repeatedly. What if this was a trick? A trap? Would this be worth the risk? _'Isabel, this is your grandmother. No matter how horrible to Father she was - she is still your grandmother who has shown she cares for you. This shouldn't even be a question.' _My head was completely right. I had to help her, no matter what the risk. I made my way out of the house, trying not to touch anything. When I reached the front steps, I took my wand out and pointed it towards the empty, trashed, house.

"Repello Muggletum. Protego Totalum." I didn't want anyone coming across a scene like this. Just imagining a muggle coming along and seeing something like this...it was hard to even think about. I breathed in deeply and finished my protective enchantments, then disapparated, the destination clear in my head.

* * *

It was deserted.

Not a person in sight, not a sound. Only a very small cottage...or shack...was around in a huge field. The grass went up to my hips, and it was dry. It was like this place had been completely untouched for years. I looked at the cottage and readied myself. I would either see something completely disturbing, or I would see her alive, or they wouldn't be here and I would have been tricked. I walked up to the door quickly and knocked on it.

No answer. So I knocked again, and again, and again.

"Come on, come on," I whispered to myself, in hope that someone would come to the door. Anyone.

"Oh, stop your racket, I'm coming!" A voice came from inside, and by the sounds of it, it was Eileen. She opened the door and stared at me like she had never seen me before in my life. I, myself, stared at her, but for many different reasons. She was skinner than she was last time I had seen her. There was a bruise on her face, and her arms were covered in bruises and cuts.

"Eileen," I breathed out. "What has he done to you?"

"Isabel!" She said cheerfully, a smile appearing on her face. "My dearest granddaughter, how happy I am to see you here!"

"I went to your old house and you weren't there, but the place had been destroyed. What's happening? Look at you, what has he done to you?" I asked. Eileen pulled down her sleeves to hide her arms.

"What do you mean what's happened? Nothing has happened my dear girl. A spell went terribly wrong at home, that's all," she replied, smiling. I couldn't believe this...still defending Tobias. After all these years of him beating her, how could she just be so weak and submit to him?

"You wrote a note for help," I said to Eileen, lowering my voice. She looked down and sighed. I shook my head and pushed past her. I wanted to see scumbag. I wanted him to look me in the eyes and tell me he didn't do this to her. I waked into the kitchen first. No sign of him. Then, I walked into the lounge room. Sitting there, on the couch in front of some muggle contraption, alcohol in hand, was Tobias. When he saw me, he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"What are you doing back here?" He spat at me. "Where the hell is your father?" I approached him, grabbed the alcohol out of his hand and threw it at the wall.

"Why did you do this to her? Why did you hurt my grandmother?" I snapped. I was angry. How dare he sit here and pretend nothing was wrong.

"I got no idea what you're on about," he replied, a disinterested expression on his face. I leaned over his chair and looked him straight in the eyes. I wasn't going to be intimidated by him, he was going to be intimidated by me.

"Tobias, you disgusting pig, what did you do?" He let out some sort of growling noise and pushed me back into the muggle contraption. He stood up and hit me in the face.

"How dare you come into MY home and say these things to ME, you ungrateful little bitch! Severus should have dumped you in an orphanage...or maybe that's what I should have done to Severus. Hell, I should have killed the money stealing bastard when I had the damn chance!" I got up and glared at Tobias. I wasn't going to take that. I slapped him in the face.

"How dare you speak like that about my father. I am not afraid of you, Tobias, got it? I am not someone you can push around," I spat. I was about to hit him in the face again, he grabbed my arm and threw me back on the floor again. He picked up a bottle and held it above his head. I took my wand out, but we were stopped by a shattering noise. I turned to see Eileen had dropped all of Tobias' alcohol to the ground. I glanced up at him. He had a murderous look in his eyes.

"Eileen, what the fuck did you do that for? You never learn!" Tobias roared at his wife. He glanced back at me, then back at his wife, then back at me. An evil smirk grew on his face. He lifted the bottle again. I flinched and shut my eyes, and another shattering sound came, but I wasn't hit with anything. I opened my eyes to see that Tobias was on the ground in front of me, knocked out, covered in glass. I then looked at Eileen, who was holding the tip of a glass bottle. She finally stood up to him.

"You need to go, Isabel, before he wakes up," Eileen said.

"You must come with me, you can't stay here anymore. He's abusing you! Have strength, Eileen! Give yourself a chance!"

"I'll be fine, Isabel. Don't worry about an old woman like me. He'll go back to being sorry soon. I cannot leave. But you must, and quickly." I glanced down at Tobias. He was beginning to stir.

"Please, come. I don't want you - "

"Isabel, please! Leave!" She took my hands and kissed my head. "Your old grandmother will be fine. I just want you to be okay. Go! Go!" I looked down at Tobias, who was slowly awakening. I nodded and turned on my heel quickly, running out of the house. Three seconds later, I apparated away. I couldn't get away from there quick enough.

* * *

I slammed the front door of Twelve Grimmauld Place shut and let out a huge sigh. I leant against the door the put my head in my hands. That was all too much to take in at once. I decided on the spot that I would go back tomorrow and see if Eileen was still okay. I owed it to her to make sure she was okay. She was my grandmother, and she needed my help. I was going to be there for her. I heard footsteps coming my way, so I looked up to check who it was.

Sirius.

"Hello, darling," I said, turning on a smile.

"What's going on, baby? You look completely awful. Tell me everything." He put his arm around my shoulder and took me into the lounge room. He sat me down, then sat down next to me, pulling me into his arms.

"It was horrible," I said softly, shaking my head.

"What do you mean by horrible?"

"She was so scared, and he was just terrifying," I said, shaking my head again. I looked up at Sirius, and could tell he was confused. "I went to my grandparents house, and it was just so shocking. There was destroyed furniture everywhere, shattered plates, and even a knife with blood on it. There was blood in the bathroom, too."

"Are you - "

"Let me finish," I said, cutting him off. "There was a letter, saying help, with an address on it. So I apparated there, and my grandmother answered the door of the house. She had bruises and cuts all over her. She denied that Tobias, her husband, had nothing to do with it. I pushed past her, and there he was, without a care in the world. I tried not to be scared by him, but it was no use. He was frightening. After I had a go at him, and threw his alcohol at the wall, he pushed me into a muggle contraption and he hit me. I hit him back, but he pushed me down again and was about to hit me with a bottle. But then Eileen, my grandmother, hit him with a bottle and told me to leave, so I did. I feel so horrible for not taking her with me but she insisted." I breathed in, composing myself. I didn't want to cry, I wanted to stay strong. There was no need to cry.

"I cannot believe this," Sirius said, kissing my head softly. "If that Tobias ever crosses my path, I'll kill him for touching you. Are you hurt? Do you need me to fix anything?" I shook my head and rested my head on his chest.

"I'm fine. I'm just a bit shaken up. All I need you to do is hold me right now so I can get back to being myself again," I said to him. I closed my eyes and got comfortable. It became silent. His warm arms were wrapped around me, and all I could hear was his breathing and his heartbeat. It was what safety felt like.

"I don't want to mention this now, but I guess I need to. Remus came around today." My eyes shot open, and alarm bells sounded in my head. "He was asking for you."

"And?" I said, unwrapping myself from Sirius' hold.

"I told him you weren't here, and - " Sirius stopped before he said anything else. Clearly something had happened.

"And what? What happened, Sirius?"

"I may have told him to back off...with my fist..."

"YOU STARTED A FIGHT WITH HIM?" I shouted. This made me so angry. "Why do you have to be so jealous?"

"Because, you two have this connection that no matter how hard I try, and no matter how deep your love is for me, it'll never break! It pisses me off that I have to watch you two around each other...so comfortable..." I rolled my eyes and scoffed. I couldn't believe this had happened again.

"Sirius, when will you grow up? I needed a bit of comfort because I have had a traumatic day, and all you can go on about is how jealous you are of Remus." He reached out for my hand but I pulled it away. I was sick of having to deal with his jealousy all the time. I stormed out of the room in a rage. I was upset. Today had been horrible.

Hopefully tomorrow would be brighter.

* * *

**A/N: Poor Isabel. Not a great time for her, is it?  
****Hoping that you enjoyed the quick update. I actually enjoyed finishing this chapter off, it was about time we got a bit of action, hey?**

**Reviews...could be better, guys. With the amount of traffic that I'm getting through this story, I think we should be getting a few more reviews. Even if you just leave a couple of words, or if you liked the chapter or not, it'd be great. Reviews are what keep me motivated, remember!**

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**Next Chapter: 'Never Let Me Go' [HUGE CHAPTER, GUYS. WHEN I SAY HUGE, I MEAN IT!] -**

Something wasn't right here. I ran into the kitchen. There were dirty dishes in the sink, the benches were filthy and there were 3 sharp knives on the floor...one covered in blood.

"Shit," I muttered, seeing the knives. I left the kitchen, then ran into the two bedrooms of the house. Not a sign of either Eileen or Tobias. I checked the laundry and I checked the small living room. There was that same muggle contraption in the living room that Tobias had thrown me into. There were 6 empty bottles of beer scattered on the floor, and one shattered bottle in the corner. Yet, still no sign of them. I walked down the hallway, and at the end was a door. This door was charred; it had been burnt, and burnt badly. I turned the knob, but it was locked. Why would a door be burned and locked? A thought ran through my mind that Tobias had done something, but I was convinced he loved Eileen, even after all the terrible things he had done to her. I took my wand out and pointed it at the lock on the door.

* * *

'_For Merlin's sakes, Isabel! Go after him! You love him, you care about him! Tell him that, tell him everything you feel before you lose him. You just heard him. He wants you, and you let him walk away. You owe it to him to tell him of your true feelings.' _That was it. I had to listen to my head and my heart. They told me the same things.


	71. Never Let Me Go

**Thanks to: LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, ZabuzasGirl, IcyRose66, TheDiva121 and HPFan for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Profile]  
**__**Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Profile]  
**__**A Bad Dream by Keane  
**__**Graveyard by Feist  
**__**Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The morning had come, and all I could think about was Eileen. Was she alive? Was she dead? It was so irresponsible of me to just leave her there and not take her with me. I looked up to see Remus had sat down next to me on the couch. He handed me a tea and smiled.

"Isabel, can we talk?"

"What do you want, Remus? I'm busy," I said. I really wasn't busy, I just didn't want to talk. I wasn't in the mood to go spilling my feelings to anyone, let alone Remus Lupin of all people. Remus cared too much about me - which was a problem. If I was upset, or annoyed, he knew. If I had a problem, he knew. It was a little bit of an inconvenience for me.

"Please."

"Of course. What is it?"

"What I did to you Isabel. I was wrong. I wanted to make you chose and it wasn't fair on you." I thought we had gone through all this. Everything was always repeated with Remus. It was like he was trying to send the same message over and over and over. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, Remus."

"Did you love me back? At the time when I left you, did you love me back?" I also thought I had answered this question already. Over and over and over.

"Yes, I did. And if you didn't leave, I think I wouldn't be where I am with Sirius, and our situation would have been a lot different." It was true. If Remus continued to persevere with me, I would have given in. I would have admitted my feelings. I would probably be with him right now. But he made the mistake. He walked away. If he didn't walk away...who knows.

"I'm sorry for asking you these questions. I've asked them before, I know."

"Remus, you need to stop apologising," I said with a smile. "It's becoming ridiculous. I get how sorry you are, but you don't need to apologise to me every two minutes.

"Yes, I guess you're right. So, what are you doing this evening? Spending it with Sirius?" His tone changed whenever he mentioned Sirius. I wanted to stop him from mentioning Sirius. It always ended in some smart-arsed remark, or me crying. "Isabel? Are you going to answer me or not?"

"Yes, sorry," I said, shaking my head, returning to normal. I thought about telling Remus the truth, but decided against it. I didn't want a few certain things coming out about my grandparents. "Er - I won't be doing much. Probably just sitting in my room, doing nothing. Reading, drinking, sleeping. The usual."

"I see." What was up with Remus today? He was asking me and telling me all these things that he has said before. Was the full moon coming up? I couldn't remember when the last one was.

"Well, Remus, I do have a few things to be attending to." I hated having to lie to him, but I wanted to get away from him. He was acting too odd for my liking. I smiled and rose from my chair. "Excuse me." I pat Remus on the back before walking out of the room - leaving him alone.

* * *

My day had been wasted. I did absolutely nothing and avoided everyone. I checked the time and decided it was time to go and check on Eileen to see if she was okay. I wasn't exactly her biggest fan with the way she had treated Father when he was younger, but she was my Grandmother. It was my duty as her granddaughter to protect her from that thing she called her husband. I picked up my long black coat and did up the sliver buttons on the front. I then grabbed my wand and left my bedroom.

I tip-toed down the stairs, not wanting to tell many people where I was going. It was all going fine, until I saw Remus.

"Where are you going?" He asked. I put my finger to his lips, to tell him to be quiet.

"I'm going out, and I cannot tell you where I will be. It's too dangerous. I'll be back later." I half smiled at Remus, then turned on my heel and left Twelve Grimmauld Place as quickly as I could without another word.

* * *

I arrived on the doorstep of the new home of Eileen and Tobias Snape. The house was like a shack. It was small, it stunk even from the outside and it was ratty. There were visible holes in the walls. I breathed in deeply and walked up to the front door. When I knocked on the door, there was no shouting, or yelling, which was the usual. I knocked again, and again, but there was nothing, yet again. There was not even a few footsteps. I opened the door to hear nothing; complete silence. As I walked deeper into the small cottage, my breath began to tremble. When I saw them last, the first thing I found was blood. This time around, I was a lot more worried.

"Eileen?" I called out, still not able to call her Grandmother. The silent response made me panic. Something wasn't right here. I ran into the kitchen. There were dirty dishes in the sink, the benches were filthy and there were 3 sharp knives on the floor...one covered in blood.

"Shit," I muttered, seeing the knives. I left the kitchen, then ran into the two bedrooms of the house. Not a sign of either Eileen or Tobias. I checked the laundry and I checked the small living room. There was that same muggle contraption in the living room that Tobias had thrown me into. There were 6 empty bottles of beer scattered on the floor, and one shattered bottle in the corner. Yet, still no sign of them. I walked down the hallway, and at the end was a door. This door was charred; it had been burnt, and burnt badly. I turned the knob, but it was locked. Why would a door be burned and locked? A thought ran through my mind that Tobias had done something, but I was convinced he loved Eileen, even after all the terrible things he had done to her. I took my wand out and pointed it at the lock on the door.

"Alohomora," I said. I heard the lock open, and the door opened only a matter of seconds afterwards. Behind the door was a set of stairs, going down to what seemed like a dungeon or a cellar.

"Lumos," I whispered. The tip of my wand lit up, and I stepped inside the door. I gazed down at the stairs, noticing something was odd about them. Unlike the door, they weren't burnt. What made it even more peculiar, is that the back of the door was not burnt either. My suspicions were raised, I was sure that what I was going to find was not going to be something to celebrate over. I began to walk cautiously downstairs. I didn't know if something could be waiting for me down there. I had to be careful. I breathed in, then breathed out. Father had always told me that I had to keep my nerve in situations like this.

I reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around. I couldn't see anything. My eyes shifted towards the ground, and I screamed in horror at what was lying there. The blood stained body of my Grandmother, Eileen. Next to her body was the body of Tobias. He had one stab wound in his stomach that I could see clearly. It wasn't hard to guess what happened. He killed Eileen, then killed himself. I knelt next to Eileen's body and breathed in deeply. I wasn't going to get so emotional over this. I couldn't. I had to keep calm. I was most likely the only one that knew about his. I touched Eileen's hand. It was so cold. I looked down and tried not to cry.

"Grandmother," I whispered. "I am so sorry this happened to you." My hand swept over her eyes, closing her eyelids. "I'm so sorry." I should have protected her. I should have taken her away from Tobias when I had the chance. I should have had Tobias locked up when I had the chance. I put my wand to her neck and wiped a tear.

"Tergeo," I said softly. The blood began to disappear from her neck. I moved my wand down from her neck, to her shoulder. From her shoulder, to her chest. From her chest, to her stomach. From her stomach, to her thigh. And from her thigh, to her lower leg. She had been stabbed in multiple places. It made me feel ill to think about how much pain she would have been in. She had bled to death. If Tobias hadn't been a cowardly bastard and killed himself, I would have killed him instantly without thought. The blood had been cleared from my Grandmother's body. I sighed and lowered my head.

"I should have saved you," I whispered to her body. "Now, what am I going to do?" Would I tell Father now? Would I tell him tomorrow? Would I tell anyone? One thing was for sure - I needed to get out of here. I stood up and walked to the door. I would tell Father tomorrow. Hopefully no one would find these two here overnight. I walked out the door and locked the door using various charms, making sure that no unwanted visitors would enter. I ran up the stairs and out of the house. I was nervous. This couldn't get out. I would be followed closely - which would mean I wouldn't be able to live with Sirius anymore. I ran away from the house quickly. I wanted to get as far away from there as possible. I stopped when I was nearly one hundred meters from the house and held up my wand.

"Repello Muggletum. Protego Totalum." I waved my wand to place barriers around the house. No one could get in. Once I had finished my protective enchantments, I looked around to check if everything was secure before disapparating.

* * *

I shut the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place as quietly as I could. It was now 1AM in the morning, and I knew at least one person would be awake. It turns out I was right, as I heard footsteps coming towards me, however, the person that came to greet me was not who I expected.

"Bit late, don't you think?" Remus said, raising his eyebrows at me. I tried to get past him, put he put his arm out to block me.

"I have a good excuse," I sighed.

"What good excuse do you have, Isabel? You're very lucky I'm the one who covered for you, and Sirius was convinced that I was telling the truth."

"Covered for me?"

"I told Sirius you were at Andromeda's house."

"Oh. Well, thank you for that."

"Now, are you going to tell me where you've been?" I bit my lip. I didn't want to tell anyone else before I told Father, but I guess I didn't really have a choice in this situation. I nodded towards the door on our left, and Remus opened it. We went and sat in the living room, trying to be quiet as we possibly could.

"I went to see my Grandparents tonight...Eileen and Tobias."

"Why would you want to see them?"

"I went to check on Eileen. Last time I went to see her, they were nowhere to be seen at their house, and there was blood. Father then told me that they had moved to a different location. So I went to see her there, and she was frightened of Tobias and what he could do to her. So I went to check on her this evening, and it was silent when I arrived. I looked around the house for a while and found nothing. Then there was this door...it was...odd."

"How was it odd?"

"It was burnt on the outside, but when you walked through it, there was a basic staircase, and the back of the door wasn't burnt."

"That is odd. What else happened?"

"I walked down the stairs into a cellar, and I found Eileen and Tobias."

"Why were they in the cellar?"

"Remus...they're dead. Tobias killed my grandmother, then killed himself." Remus looked shocked; any normal person would be shocked. I bit my lip and looked down. "He killed my grandmother. I was supposed to be there for her and protect her." I promised myself I wouldn't cry, yet tears began to fall from my eyes. I knew my grandmother was a good person, but she died in the completely wrong way. She should have died at peace, but instead she was murdered. Murdered by a coward.

"Isabel, I...I'm so sorry," he said, putting his arms around me and pulling me into a tight hug. Was it wrong to be feeling so comfortable in his arms? Was it wrong to have butterflies whenever he touched me? Was it wrong to be feeling this way about a man that was not Sirius? "I'm so sorry." Remus looked down at me, and I stared up at him, right into his warm, beautiful eyes. Silence; not a word was said. We just sat there. I sniffed as a single tear dropped onto my cheek. Remus wiped it away and smiled. I was so thankful he was here. If he wasn't - I didn't know what I would do. Sirius wouldn't be as sympathetic that the mother of Severus Snape had been murdered. Remus leaned down and pressed his lips to mine; and I didn't push him off. No, I _couldn't _push him off. I was kissing Remus back. Apart of me wanted to kick and scream, telling him never to do it again, but there was another voice, a louder voice, in my head that was telling me this was perfect and this was supposed to be. The voice made me feel like I needed to stay in his arms. Remus pulled back, and we sat there in silence; stunned silence. We stared at each other. What else could we do? I was shocked he had kissed me. He was obviously shocked that I had kissed him back.

"Remus, we can't do this to - " Remus interrupted me by pressing his lips on mine once again. Why was I letting this happen? Why was I freely accepting Remus kissing me? Remus again pulled back. I looked down at the ground. I was beginning to feel extremely guilty.

"Thank you," Remus whispered to me. I looked back up at Remus. He couldn't be doing this to me. He shouldn't be doing this to me. But at the same time, there was something there. There had always been something there between Remus and I.

"You're welcome."

"I love you, Isabel," Remus said softly.

"I - " I rose from where I sat and breathed in and out, trying to gather myself; compose myself. What was I doing? I had a boyfriend whom I was happy with. I didn't need to do this. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to betray Sirius by going behind his back and kissing his best friend. "Remus, I can't. I'm sorry. It's just Sirius, and what - "

"Stop it," Remus said.

"Pardon me?"

"You feel something for me, and you have to stop running away from it. You need to own up to it. If you keep running it'll eat away at you. Please listen to me, Isabel. You know how I feel about you. I need you to be clear with me for once. If you aren't clear with me now, this is it. I'll leave, and I'll never speak of us again. I'll make it convenient for you and do what I did last time. I will just erase myself from your life." I took in his words. I processed them. I knew what he was saying, and I did not want him to leave me again, but no words came from my mouth. I had a million things to say, but nothing was coming out.

"Fine," Remus said. "Goodbye." Remus stood up, stormed out of the house, onto the street and disapparated. I stared at the spot he had vanished from. _'For Merlin's sakes, Isabel! Go after him! You love him, you care about him! Tell him that, tell him everything you feel before you lose him. You just heard him. He wants you, and you let him walk away. You owe it to him to tell him of your true feelings.' _That was it. I had to listen to my head and my heart. They told me the same things. I shut the door to Twelve Grimmauld Place behind me, ran onto the street and apparated to Remus' house in the forest.

The lights in his house were on. He was here. I took out my wand and opened the door with it. I waved my wand behind me so the door would lock, then I threw my wand aside and ran into the small living room. Remus sat on the seat, his head in his hands, shouting at himself. When he heard my footsteps, he looked up, shock written all over his face. I didn't blame him for being shocked, it was only a few minutes ago that he thought he wouldn't be seeing me again.

"Isabel," he said. I put my finger to his lips to tell him to be quiet. My breath trembled, as did my hands. I had never been this nervous for anything in my life.

"I mean what I am about to say. I'm not saying this because of what you said to me, I am saying this because it is the absolute truth," I said. My finger dropped away from his lips and my right hand went to his cheek.

"I've been scared. I've been scared of what people will think of me...think of you...but I don't care anymore. I needed to do this and tell you. I adore you so much, and I know how hard this has been for you. I haven't been honest with you at all, and I should have been. I don't know where this leaves us, and I can't think about the future, but all I know is that I want you right now. I love you, Remus Lupin." I leaned up and pressed my lips to his. I wasn't feeling guilty. I was not going to regret what I was doing. I was letting my feelings out. All these feelings had been building up inside of me and I just had to let them out. I couldn't keep them shut up. They were too strong. I wrapped my arms around his neck as Remus backed me up against the wall. His scent was so appealing and the warmth of his body was contagious. I could feel Remus move from my lips to my neck, and I could also feel his hands move to unbutton my jacket, then to remove my dress. I didn't care for anything else but him at that moment. I was going to go this far with him and I wasn't going to feel guilty about it.

"Are you - " Remus breathed out before I interrupted him with a nod. I knew what he was going to ask. I was okay with this, and I was ready for this.

* * *

**A/N: Bam. Just crept up on you, didn't it. Who was expecting that? Who wasn't?**

**So, this whole dynamic has now changed. Who's still loyal to Team Sirius? Who's still loyal to Team Remus? And what do you think is going to happen now? **

**Reviews, guys! Keep them up! Even just a few words?**

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	72. Suspicion

**Thanks to: toneale'anncurtis, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, IcyRose66, HPFan & TheDiva121 for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel and Sirius' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel and Severus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Open Arms by Gary Go  
**__**Conductor by We Were Promised Jetpacks  
**__**Means To An End by Trent Dabbs**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I could hear birds tweeting, singing their morning song to anyone that could hear them. I smiled as the sun's bright, warm light hit me. I pulled the sheets over my head. What a beautiful morning this was. So much different to the dark and dull mornings at Grimmauld Place.

Grimmauld Place.

Sirius.

Shit.

I threw the covers off me and jumped out of bed. This was not good. Sure, I didn't regret last night, but I didn't have to take it this far. I was with Sirius. I had _cheated _on him. I felt like I was drowning in a tsunami of guilt. How could I have done this? This was not me. I was not this person. But, even with all these horrible feelings shame and guilt, I remembered back to last night and every action...everything that I said...it felt right. I quickly got dressed and backed out of the bedroom. Then, I turned around. Standing right in front of me, was Remus.

"Morning," Remus said. I tried to say something to him, but nothing came out. Merlin, what if we had just ruined our friendship? I saw Remus' expression change as he realised that I was not in the happy mood that he was in.

"You regret it, don't you?" He asked. "You do, I can see it."

"No, stop," I said, my hand going to his arm. "I don't regret it at all..."

"But? There is always a but, Isabel."

"This is wrong, completely and utterly wrong. We can't do this to Sirius! You're his best friend, Remus! I am his girlfriend, and I know that hurts you. I value you're friendship with Sirius over my relationship with him and my relationship with you. You're like brothers. You've been best friends since your days at Hogwarts. I'm not worth fighting over." I sighed and took the hair tie off my wrist and tied my hair back so it would be out of my face.

"Did you mean what you said last night?" Remus asked. He looked as if I'd slapped him in the face, but this was the best thing for him. He could afford to lose me, but couldn't afford to lose Sirius.

"Of course I did. I care about you. I love you. But you and Sirius are family. You, Sirius and Harry...you're all each other has. I don't want you losing that bond that you have with him."

"So you're just going to leave it here? We're never moving forward together? After last night and all that we've been through?"

"I can't think about never. I'm thinking about now, Remus. " I leaned forward and kissed him softly. He entwined his hand in mine, and we stayed like that for a few moments, before I broke the kiss and stepped back. "I'm sorry. I'm not changing my mind." I turned my back and left the house quickly. I wiped the tears that had fallen down my cheek. He was going to hate me forever, but that was something I could live with. As long as his friendship with Sirius would be in tact, I could live without Remus' friendship. This wasn't the time for me to be selfish. Being selfish is what got me here in the first place. I wanted both of them. I looked back at Remus' house and realised how much strength it took for me to do what I just this. I had grown so much emotionally. I wasn't going to string them along anymore. It wasn't fair.

But, it hurt.

I took one last look at Remus' house. I spotted him staring at me through the window, his face emotionless...like a Quidditch player who had just lost the most important game of their life. I sighed and turned away, remembering that I had done the right thing. I closed my eyes and disapparated.

* * *

I shut the door to Twelve Grimmauld Place as quietly as I possibly could. Hopefully Sirius wasn't awake yet, so I could think of some plausible excuse as to why I was out last night. I walked down the hallway, but before I could reach the living room, I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and turned around to face whoever it was that had stopped me. It was Sirius.

That tsunami of guilt was back.

"Where the hell have you been?" Sirius asked. I was in deep shit.

"Well - "

"Moony said you were at Andie's. Why were you there all night?" That was it! That excuse Remus had to cover for me! Thankfully Sirius mentioned that. I had a story I could build on from here.

"I just needed to get out of this house for a while. Seeing my grandmother the day before shook me up a little, and Andromeda said I was welcome to stay. I wasn't planning on it, but it got so late and I was absolutely exhausted." I hated myself. I was a liar and a cheat. I was lying right to Sirius' face. How could I do this? This was against every single moral I held dear to me.

"Isabel, if you need to get out of the house for a while just tell me. Remember, I am the one that's wanted by the Ministry, not you," Sirius said with a smile. God, just seeing him like this made me completely sick. What I was doing to him was so incredibly wrong.

"Sirius, I - " I stopped mid sentence. I couldn't finish it. I just couldn't.

"Yes, Isabel?"

"Thank you...for understanding," I said. Merlin, I felt disgusted with myself. Before Sirius could say anymore, I stepped past him and began walking away. I couldn't be around him a second longer. I opened the door to my small room that I used for potion making and slammed the door behind me. I leaned against the door, my head falling into my hands. I just had to make everything so much more complicated.

"What are you doing, Isabel?" I whispered to myself. I looked over at the photo of Sirius and I that I had placed on my desk. We were smiling...he was so happy. I took the photo and threw it on the floor in a panic. I couldn't look at it anymore. After realising the stupidity of what I had just done, I took out my wand and pointed it at the photo that had just been destroyed.

"Reparo." I breathed in and out, composing myself. I couldn't act like this. I wasn't doing myself any favours. I had to go on as normal or he'd think something was wrong. _'This is stupid, Isabel. You're lying to Sirius and you're lying to yourself. You said you love Remus but you're running away from him again. Stop pushing him away.' _I wasn't going to listen to my head, not this time. I was just going to go on pretending. I sat down at my desk and I took out my parchment, my ink and quill. I had to concentrate on the bigger issue in front of me. How was I supposed to break the news to my father that his parents were dead? I put the quill to the parchment and began writing.

_**Dear Father,**_

_**I need you to meet me at West Hill, near Doveton. There is nearly nothing there except a little cottage that looks more like a shack.**_

_**It's an emergency. Meet me as soon as possible.**_

_**Isabel.**_

I put the letter in the envelope next to my ink and gave it to my owl Marieke. I held out my finger, and she perched herself onto it, letter in beak. I opened the door to the hallway and walked to the front door of the house. I opened that door and turned to the jet black owl.

"Take it to Father at Hogwarts, Marieke. It's an emergency," I said to her I stroked her a couple of times before letting her go to deliver the letter to Father.

* * *

Once Marieke had set off on her journey, I collected my jacket and went into the study, where Sirius was reading something that looked like a journal. I walked over to stand behind him and put my hands on his shoulders. I breathed in deeply, trying to keep myself composed. I looked closely at what he was reading and realised it was his handwriting. This was Sirius' journal.

"I didn't know you kept a diary," I said to him.

"Memories are to precious to lose," he replied to me.

"Do you still write one?"

"Not anymore. I stopped when I went to Azkaban...they wouldn't let me write one. Anyway, what does it matter? It's not like it would be too exciting. This one is just drivel about James, Remus and I. And how James finally got the attention of Lily," he said. He turned around and looked at the jacket I had on my arm. "Going somewhere? I just got you back!"

"I'm afraid it's important, darling. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Care to tell me where you're going?" He asked. I turned away. I couldn't bare to look in his eyes.

"I can't. I know how you hate me keeping secrets and all," I said, thinking how ironic that was coming from me. "I shall tell you when I return if I can, but for now the only person that can know about this is me." And Remus. I told him. Another secret I was keeping from Sirius. I felt so dirty, keeping secrets and acting like this.

Sometimes, lying is the best thing to do to protect someone you love. Without another word, I left the room, and the house. I couldn't be in there a second longer. As soon as I shut the door to Twelve Grimmauld Place, I covered my mouth to contain a loud sob. I hated myself. How could I do something like that to Sirius? I walked down the front stairs quickly, then walked even faster down the street. I ended up running around the corner, then bursting into tears against a tall brick wall.

"Oh God," I cried, leaning against the wall. Everything was crashing down around me. My grandmother was killed by my grandfather, my best friend isn't talking to me, I lost my job at Hogwarts, my father doesn't want anything to do with me because my boyfriend is Sirius Black, Remus probably hates me because I broke his heart, again, and if Sirius ever found out that I cheated he would kick me out and I'd lose him forever. I had no one to blame but myself. I got myself into this mess. I breathed in slowly, realising that I had something more important in front of me. I had to tell Father of his parent's deaths.

* * *

I arrived at West Hill, outside the little cottage, to see Father, standing there as impatient as ever. He had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot. For everyone else, this would prove an intimidating sight, but Father never really scared me. Sure, when I was eleven and was meeting him for the first time, it was a little scary, but since then I had never found my father frightening.

"Isabel, I got your owl and came here as soon as I could. What is the emergency?" Father asked. I had never been so relieved at the sound of his voice. I missed it so much. I missed him. Whenever Father was in my life, everything seemed relatively normal. Everything seemed safe and together. As much as I was glad to see Father, I needed to refocus. I was about to deliver terrible news.

"Father," I said, a serious expression on my face. "It's Grandmother. Eileen. Your mother." Father looked surprised that I had brought her up, as if he thought I couldn't remember that she existed.

"What about her?" He asked. "I have to admit, I am quite perplexed that you would bring me to such a remote location to speak about her."

"Father, we're not going to talk about her. I need to show you something. I do have to warn you though, it is a little bit shocking." I turned towards the small shack and took out my wand. I waved it, saying the enchantments that would bring down all the wards that I had put up. I was quite relieved to see that my enchantments had worked.

"What is this all about?" Father asked me. "You are being very mysterious about all of this. You cannot just tell me the reason I am here?"

"No," I told him. He needed to see it, I couldn't explain it. "Follow me." I walked up to the front door and pointed my wand at the keyhole. "Alohomora." The door unlocked and opened. I turned to Father and put my hand on his arm. "Don't touch anything." I walked into the house and was careful not to touch anything, especially the destroyed furniture. I turned back to Father, who was staring wide-eyed at the living room and hallway.

"What has happened here? Who lives here, Isabel? What has this got to do with my mother?" I did not reply. I continued to walk until I reached the door that was completely charred. I waved my wand and the door opened slowly.

"Before we go in, I need you to promise me you won't touch anything. This is important."

"I promise, Isabel," Father said, trying to push past me. I blocked his way with my arm and looked at him sternly.

"Promise me again."

"I promise," he said. I nodded and started to walk down the stairs. Father walked slowly, right behind me. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I waved my wand so the room would light up. I walked to the middle of the room and stood in between the bodies of Eileen and Tobias.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as Father caught sight of his mother. He dropped to his knees beside her and looked at her in shock. I couldn't imagine what he was thinking. I moved to stand next to Father, and placed a hand on his shoulder. I couldn't do anything but remind him that I was here with him, and that I was able to help.

"How did this happen?" He asked, surprisingly calm.

"I cannot know for sure, but there is quite a long story. I visited her not yesterday, but the day before. She had bruises and marks all over her. Tobias tried to hit me with a glass bottle when I was at their house because I was trying to help Eileen. I offered to take her with me but she refused. I know I should have and I feel so terrible for not helping her. And then I came to check on her the next day, and she was here, dead. Father, I am so sorry, I know I could have - "

"You did all you could," he said, cutting me off.

"What can I do to help?" I asked.

"Nothing. I will take care of this. You go home and never speak of this again, understood?" I only nodded back at Father. I was going to obey whatever he asked of me.

"Okay, I'll see you soon - "

"Before I forget, this came for you to the school." Father passed me an envelope with my name on it. "Be safe. Goodbye, Isabel."

"Goodbye, Father." I made my way out of this little shack as quickly as I could. It was making me sick just being inside of there. I

* * *

I arrived back at Twelve Grimmauld Place, and the first thing I did was open the mysterious letter that Father had given me. Maybe this would solve my problems? Maybe things wouldn't be so bad anymore after I opened this letter?

_**Dearest Isabel,**_

_**I feel guilty for not making contact with you for such a long time. It seems irresponsible of me, considering my duties. You know how I feel about what you should be doing with your talents and your blood status. I am wondering if you had thought anymore about it? **_

_**I do miss you and our lovely midnight conversations. **_

_**Think wisely and carefully, Isabel. **_

_**Very carefully.**_

_**Lucius**._

I ripped up the letter as quickly as I possibly could and threw it in the nearest fireplace I could find. I was right. Everything was turning to shit.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so nasty. After last chapter, I go and do that to Remus and Isabel. I'm sorry to do that to you again, Remus/Isabel. But you know me, I promise you it's not the end for Remus and Isabel. Sirius, on the other hand, poor guy. Completely oblivious that his girlfriend cheated on him with his best mate.**

**I actually found it really hard to write this chapter - I wasn't sure how you guys would react to Isabel hating herself about what she had done. What do you guys think?**

**REVIEWS! Did that catch your attention? No? Well then...REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Hopefully you got the message there. So, let's pick them up! Not long ago we were averaging 10+ per chapter, and I know with the story traffic I get for this story we can get WAY MORE than 10 reviews a chapter. I BELIEVE IN YOU!**

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**Next Chapter: The Way of the Snakes **

"Sirius, I need to tell you something," I said quietly. It was eating away at me. I could't hide this from him anymore. I needed to tell him.

"What is it?" He replied, a grin on his face. I clasped my hands together, and I felt my head getting hotter. I was so nervous for this.

"Remus and I...the other night when I wasn't here...I was at his house." His expression changed, but he didn't seem to understand what I was saying. I guess I just had to say it as bluntly as I could.

"And?" Sirius asked, a little confused.

"We, er. How am I to say this?"

"I'll make it a little easier, Isabel," Remus said, entering the room again. Merlin, no. He can't say this to Sirius. It'll be worse coming from him. He needed to get away from here.

"Remus, no, please - "

"Sirius, Isabel and I had sex the other night when she stayed at mine," Remus said bluntly. I looked over to Sirius, my eyes filled with tears. Sirius' face went red. He looked between Remus and I in disgust. Moments later, he launched himself at his best friend, his fist hitting Remus' face.


	73. The Way of the Snakes

**Thanks to: ZabuzasGirl. HPFan, LaFlorine, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, anon (times 2), youknowhonoyoureallydo, hang on & amgsupernatural for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Sleep Alone (909S In the Darktimes Remix) by Bat for Lashes  
**__**Get Some by Lykke Li  
**__**Mud by Peaches**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I sat up in bed, awake all night. I didn't want to be beside Sirius. I didn't deserve to be beside him. I had betrayed him. So many other things were rushing through my mind at the same time as thinking about what I did to Sirius. Especially what Father had done with the bodies of Eileen and Tobias. The hours rushed past as I sat there, thinking about everything that was happening to me. The little light that came into Grimmauld Place lit up the room when morning came. Sirius stirred beside me before opening his eyes and looking up at me.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said, smiling.

"Good morning to you, darling," I replied, leaning down and giving him his first kiss for the day.

"You look a mess. How much sleep did you get?"

"Zero hours," I told him.

"No sleep? Merlin, Isabel, why not? What's wrong?"

"I just have a lot on my mind right now. It's making it hard for me to sleep."

"Why can't you talk to me about it? I've been through a lot of tough times, too. I reckon I'd be able to help you in one way or another," he said, smiling. "Anyway, you're my girlfriend. I'd do anything to make you feel better." There was the guilt again. It hit me like a train. Every time he said something like that, I just knew the guilt would be there - but I deserved it.

"I know I can talk about things with you," I told Sirius, putting on a smile. "But I don't want to worry you with it. It's practically nothing." Lie, it was huge. "You just don't need to listen to my ramblings about nothing. Now, I'm going to get out of bed, and I suggest you do the same." I pulled the covers off me and rose from the bed. "There's no use staying in here all day." I smiled once more before turning on my heel and leaving the room.

* * *

I was searching. Searching for something that would take my mind off all of this crap that had been going on in my life. I reached up into the very top cupboard in the kitchen and smirked when I saw what was on the very back of the shelf. Firewhiskey. I grabbed it out of the back of the shelf and stared down at it. I was actually glad it was there. I climbed back down and unscrewed the bottle. I took in its strong scent then took a sip. It was funny, actually. As soon as the firewhiskey hit my tongue, a euphoric sense of freedom came over me. I turned on the muggle radio and danced around the dining room with the bottle of firewhiskey in my hand. I needed to loosen up, and this was exactly the way I was going to do it. My black hair swished around in my face as I moved my body to the loud beat. The short, black and revealing dress I was wearing was something new. I felt like wearing it because it was something different, and I felt different. I twirled around the kitchen and drank from the bottle. I jumped up onto the table and jumped around. I felt so carefree. Nothing else mattered except for this moment. I was having fun, and no one was going to stop me.

"What's going on here?" Sirius asked, turning down the stereo. Guess that I spoke too soon. I smirked at him and held the bottle out.

"Feel free to have some," I told him. He walked over and pried the bottle of firewhiskey from my hands. I got off the table and frowned at him. "I was being sarcastic."

"What on earth have you been doing?" Sirius enquired. "Are you drunk?

"I've been loosening up and I'm not drunk," I answered, snatching the bottle of firewhiskey from him. I took another sip and rested the bottle on the table. "This stuff is good. Where'd you get it?" I smirked at Sirius, knowing he was confused, yet somehow turned on by my antics. Teasing Sirius had become one of my talents. I also knew that this was the best way to turn off the guilt resting inside of me, to hide it away. It was such a Slytherin thing to do. Whenever something bad happened, or whenever we did something wrong, we'd just sweep it under the carpet.

"This is what you call loosening up?" I jumped off the table and put my hands on Sirius' chest. I leaned in close to Sirius, so he thought I was going to kiss him. I stopped right before my lips touched his and my lips curled up into a cruel smile.

"It's the way of the snakes. Something you wouldn't know about," I whispered. I stepped backwards and turned around. I danced my way out of the room, the bottle of firewhiskey in my hand.

* * *

"The way of the snakes, you say?" Sirius said, entering the room. I sighed when I heard the sound of his voice. Why did he have to follow me? I was having such a good time on my own. I waved my wand so that the muggle radio would turn up louder. Maybe if I ignored him, he would leave me alone. I continued dancing, but was stopped by Sirius. His hands went to my waist as he looked me in the eye. "What's gotten into you? Not that I don't like this you, I love this you. You're a lot more...fun. And you're wearing a lot more...revealing...clothing," he said, nodding towards the cleavage on my dress today. "The way of the snakes, it does have me just a tad bit curious."

"Mmm, something you wouldn't know about, darling."

"How wouldn't I know about it?" He asked, sitting close beside me.

"Because you were not sorted into Slytherin."

"Ah, so it's a Slytherin thing."

"It is, which is why you wouldn't understand it."

"Killing people also seems to be a Slytherin thing." I rolled my eyes and ignored him. As I continued to dance, there was a loud knock at the door. I smirked at Sirius before leaving to go and open the door. However, when I reached the hallway, the person had already entered the house.

"Remus," I breathed out as the song finished in the background.

* * *

"The music is a bit loud, don't you think?" Was the first thing that Remus said to me. I was surprised, seeing as the last thing I did was break his heart and run out on him after sleeping with him. I shrugged and walked back into the room I was in. I was glad, because another loud song had begun playing. I picked up my firewhiskey and danced around with it.

"Why is she dancing with a bottle of firewhiskey in her hand?" Remus asked Sirius.

"She says it's the way of the snakes, Moony. A Slytherin thing, apparently. I just think it's her, though." I froze on the spot and turned to Remus and Sirius. They were speaking to each other like friends would. There were no stupid remarks or teasing or anything to do with me. It made me feel even worse than I already did about sleeping with Remus. I shook my head and tried to ignore it. I took another sip of my firewhiskey, but it wouldn't go away. I turned back to them, and they were laughing and joking with each other. It wasn't a good time, but I needed to do this. I had to tell him.

"Sirius, I need to tell you something," I said quietly. It was eating away at me. I could't hide this from him anymore.

"What is it?" He replied, a grin on his face. I clasped my hands together, and I felt my head getting hotter. I was so nervous for this. I was going to either ruin something completely special between them, or lose my relationship with Sirius. I hoped for the latter.

"Remus and I...the other night when I wasn't here...I was at his house." His expression changed, but he didn't seem to understand what I was saying. I guess I just had to say it as bluntly as I could.

"And?" Sirius asked, a little confused.

"We, er. How am I to say this?"

"I'll make it a little easier, Isabel," Remus said, entering the room again. Merlin, no. He can't say this to Sirius. It'll be worse coming from him. He needed to get away from here.

"Remus, no, please - "

"Sirius, Isabel and I had sex the other night when she stayed at mine," Remus said bluntly. I looked over to Sirius, my eyes filled with tears. Sirius' face went red. He looked between Remus and I in disgust. Moments later, he launched himself at his best friend, his fist hitting Remus' face. I gasped and watched in horror as Sirius attacked his best friend, punching him over and over and over. I tried in desperation to pull Sirius off of Remus, but it was no use. Sirius was much too strong.

"STOP IT!" I yelled, but neither of them reacted. Remus was now retaliating to Sirius, hitting him back whenever Sirius hit him.

"BOTH OF YOU, STOP, PLEASE!" Nothing. They just continued to attack each other. I was now against the wall in tears. Blood was now on the floor as both of them were now bleeding.

"PLEASE!" I gave up. I just watched them, and would have to wait until they tired themselves out. I shook my head, sobbing. I had done this to their friendship. They had been like brothers since their Hogwarts days and I had destroyed that with just one stupid mistake. I heard the front door slammed, and my head snapped up. Seconds later, Bill and Arthur were in the room, staring at what was happening in front of them. They instantly pulled Sirius off of Remus and pushed him to the other side of the room. When he tried to go after Remus again, Bill pushed him against the back wall and held him there.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" Arthur said, looking back between Remus, Sirius and I. "Look at how upset you have made Isabel! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves!"

"It's my fault, Arthur!" I cried. "This is all my fault!"

"It's not - "

"It is her fault," Sirius spat. "Stupid whore couldn't help herself."

"Sirius!" Bill snapped. "Don't you dare call my best friend that."

"She cheated on me, I can call her whatever I want!" Bill and Arthur both turned to me, eyes wide.

"Is that true?" Bill asked. I wiped tears away and nodded.

"And I hate myself for it."

"That makes me feel so much better," Remus muttered. Bill walked over to my and put his arm around my shoulder.

"Come on, the last thing you need is to be around these two right now. They need to talk for themselves. Come into the kitchen and we'll...talk." Bill led me out of the room, and I could just feel the glares coming from Sirius.

* * *

"Isabel," Bill said as we sat down. "What have you done?" My head fell into my hands and I shook my head.

"I'm such an idiot."

"Well, it wasn't a smart thing to do. I thought you were in love with Sirius?"

"I am," I said, looking up at Bill. My face was wet with tears. "I am in love with Sirius." Bill sighed and put his arm around me. I leaned my head on his shoulder - it felt too heavy to even keep it up.

"Then why did you go and do that with Lupin?"

"Because...as much as I wanted to deny it...I love him as well."

"How can you love two people at the same time?" Bill asked me. I shook my head and shrugged.

"I don't know. It just happened."

"It's not fair on them, Isabel," Bill said. I knew it wasn't. Bill was completely and utterly right. That's why I had told Remus that we could not be together, because I didn't want to string him or Sirius along. That didn't matter anymore, though. I had ruined everything. Their friendship and my relationships with them were in tatters because I made a silly mistake and was selfish.

I was an idiot.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Bill asked.

"I have no idea," I replied. "Run and hide for the rest of my life?" I laughed, but there was no humour in the laugh. No happiness. "I do know that I need to get away from here. I can't be here around Sirius right now, and I doubt he wants me here anyway. He probably doesn't want a whore like me in his house," I said. It hurt, calling myself a whore, but that's what Sirius thought I was.

"You're not - "

"You heard Sirius," I said quietly, my eyes fixed to the floor.

"He didn't mean it."

"Of course he meant it! This is Sirius, we're talking about. He means every word that he says!" I started to cry hysterically once again, and Bill put his arms around me and held me tightly. "I know what I did was so, so wrong, and I don't deserve them, but I can't live without either of them." Everything was crashing down. Nothing had ever been this bad for me before, and I could have avoided it. I could have avoided all of it! "I need to get out of here," I said.

"Alright. Come back to the Burrow. Mum'd be happy to have you there."

"No," I said. "I have to go somewhere else. Someone who isn't in the Order. I think I'll go to Andromeda's."

"That's a good idea," Bill said, nodding. "Come on, lets go get some of your stuff and then I'll take you there." Bill smiled at me and helped me upstairs. We walked into my room and opened the wardrobe. I took out a bag, not my trunk, and stuffed it with shoes, nightclothes, underwear and normal clothes. I threw other random things in there too, like my books and photos. Bill picked up my bag once it was packed, and I checked my wand pocket for my wand. It was in there, so I was all ready to leave. I walked downstairs to see Remus, Sirius and Arthur standing in the hallway. The three of them looked up at Bill and I when they heard us coming downstairs.

"Where are you going, Isabel?" Arthur asked me, breaking the awkward silence.

"Bill's taking me to Andromeda's. I think it'd be smart if I got away from here for a while."

"I think that's wise," Arthur told me. I glanced at Remus, and then Sirius. Remus had blood on the side of his face from Sirius attacking him. I wanted to go over and clean it off, but I would be stupid to. I had to keep my distance.

"I think I should be going," I said. I turned away and didn't look back. I left the house and disapparated once Bill was by my side.

* * *

I knocked on the front door of the Tonks household, bag in hand. Bill had left me once we had made it here. He told me that I needed to do this for myself, and I agreed with him. It was no use hiding behind someone else now. No one was answering the door, so I knocked again. And again. And again. I was truly becoming impatient. It was probably going to be a shock for Andromeda when she saw me - my eyes were red and my cheeks puffy. It was clear I had been in tears.

"ALRIGHT, STOP YOUR KNOCKING!" I heard Andromeda yell from inside. The lock of the door made an unlocking sound, and Andromeda opened the door. Her expression immediately changed when she saw my face. "Isabel, darling, what's going - " I couldn't hold it back anymore. I fell onto my knees and cried.

"I screwed up!" I cried. "I've ruined everything." Andromeda fell to her knees in front of me and held me tightly. She rocked me back and forth as I continued to sob. Why did I do this?

* * *

**A/N: She's in a heap of crap, isn't she? See people, this is teaching you a lesson. Don't lie your way through life, and don't get caught up in love triangles!**

**I don't want you guys to feel sympathy for Isabel - she ruined everything for herself. All the time we see original characters do something wrong and then the author thinks it's okay to feel sorry for them. Sure, you can feel a little sorry for Isabel, but don't go over the top. I get really annoyed when authors think their original characters are angels. You need to do things like this to your character for character development.**

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**Next Chapter:**

Now, tell me, my child, what on Earth has got you like this?" She asked.

"I've ruined everything, Andromeda," I said quietly. "I've been an idiot and now I'm paying for it."

"What is this idiocy, then?"

"I...I'm sorry, this is hard for me." I breathed in once more and looked at Andromeda. "I slept with Remus."

"Remus Lupin?"

"Yes, Remus Lupin, who else? And then Sirius found out..."

"Oh dear. He wouldn't have taken that very well," Andromeda said. "Well, you have got yourself a huge mess, haven't you?"


	74. Consequences

**Thanks to: ConfusedSoAmI (times 4), LaFlorine, HPFan, ZabuzasGirl and amgsupernatural for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**The Friends Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel and Sirius' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**On Melancholy Hill (Feed Me Remix) by Gorillaz  
**__**Compulsion by Doves**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Andromeda brought me inside and sat me down. I had stopped hysterically crying, and was now staring at Andromeda, breathing in and out as slowly as I could, composing myself again. It was going to be hard to tell Andromeda, because I knew she'd be disappointed in me. She was like my second mother - she had taught me so many things...I didn't want to let her down like this...

"Now, tell me, my child, what on Earth has got you like this?" Andromeda asked.

"I've ruined everything, Andromeda," I said quietly, shaking my head. "I've been an idiot and now I'm paying for it."

"What is this idiocy, then?"

"I...I'm sorry, this is hard for me." I breathed in once more and looked at Andromeda. "I slept with Remus."

"Remus Lupin?"

"Yes, Remus Lupin, who else? And then Sirius found out..."

"Oh dear. He wouldn't have taken that very well," Andromeda said. "Well, you have got yourself a huge mess, haven't you?" A sudden panic rushed over me, and I took Andromeda's hands and gripped them tightly.

"You have to tell me what to do. I don't want to lose either of them. God, why did I do this?" My head fell into my hands and yet again, I was crying hysterically. I felt so embarrassed, sitting here and sulking.

"Alright, Isabel, I've had enough!" Andromeda said, her tone suddenly becoming very stern. I looked up at Andromeda, speechless. What had brought this on? "You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself, or blaming yourself, or doing whatever you're doing. You made a mistake, but the last time I checked, you're the same Isabel Snape that you were before this happened. Where's your backbone, girl? You are a Snape, you need to remember who your father is."

"I'm not my father, Andromeda." I hated comparisons to him. Sure, I loved my father dearly, but I was my own person. I didn't need to be compared to anyone.

"That may be true, but his blood runs through your veins, and whether you like it or not, you are more like him than you think. You're both strong people. You don't start acting like you are now. You are not being yourself, Isabel. You're letting these two men control and overtake you as a person, and you need to stop it. I don't like where it's going whatsoever."

"I love them both, Andie," I said softly, looking down. I remembered all those times I had kissed Sirius, and felt safe in his arms. Then I went back to the other night where I was in Remus' bed, his arms wrapped around me. I was warm and happy. I felt ashamed saying that I was in love with both of them, but it was completely and utterly true.

"Then you have to make a choice. You have to stop stringing them both along, Isabel. It's not fair on them." I nodded. I knew she was right.

"Do you think the one I don't choose will hate me?" I asked.

"No, I don't. If they truly love you, they will be angry for a while, but they would not be able to stay angry at you forever." Andromeda smiled at me and kissed me on the head. "You know what you need?"

"What?"

"You need a change! It doesn't even have to be the biggest of changes, it just needs to be - "

At that moment the door slammed shut. I turned to see Tonks standing in the doorway. I was speechless. My best friend who hadn't talked to me in Merlin knows how long was standing in front of me. I stood up and walked over to her. I didn't say anything as I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. I missed hugging her. I missed my best friend. Tonks stood there for a few moments, not moving. She was probably surprised by my display of affection. Soon enough, she too, wrapped her arms around me.

"I've missed you," I said to her.

"I missed you too. I'm so sorry for everything that I've been saying to you. It's not fair."

"It's not fair what I've said to you either." After a few moments, we sat back down on the couch with Andromeda.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home with Sirius?" Tonks asked me. At that moment, she noticed my red eyes. I knew because her eyes widened as soon as she made eye contact with me. "Why have you been crying? What's going on?" I looked to Andromeda, and she nodded. I guess it was best not to keep secrets anymore.

"I made a big mistake, Tonks. And before I tell you, I must ask you not to hate or judge me. Please."

"Of course." I took a deep breath in. I knew Tonks wouldn't want to hear this because I knew she developed feelings for Remus, but I can't keep this from my best friend.

"I slept with Remus."

Silence.

More silence.

Even more silence.

And even more silence.

"Oh," Tonks said. "You cheated on Sirius?"

"I am officially the worlds biggest idiot." I shook my head, not knowing what to say next.

"So what will you do?" She asked. I was glad she wasn't screaming and yelling at me over this. That'd be another thing I wouldn't be able to handle. Rejection from my best friend.

"I don't know. All I know is that I have to choose one of them and choose them for good." Before Tonks could say anything back, Andromeda butted in.

"As I was saying before you arrived, Dora, I thought we could give Isabel a sort of makeover! A change in her life. We could have a girls night in and work on it. What do you both say?" A change sounded nice. Even if it was only a cosmetic change, it'd still work in starting afresh - which is what I would be doing.

"I'm in," I said, a small smile appearing on my face. Andromeda and I both looked to Tonks. She grinned and nodded at both of us.

"Lets do it."

**xxxx**

I stared at myself in the mirror. I wasn't sure what to think, really. I had always been a girl that never put much into my appearance, and I had my Veela genes to thank for that. I almost always wore dresses and jackets. My hair was always straight. I hardly ever wore makeup unless it was an important occasion. I spun around in the mirror, trying to work out how I felt about what I was wearing and how I looked.

Andromeda had completely replaced my dress and coat. I know had these black tight legging things, as Tonks called it, on my legs. They were tight, so they showed off everything, and Andromeda added a belt to it. I had some black, tight, weird top on. It had no sleeves, just straps going over my shoulder. Tonks told me it was called a corset top. Over it was a black denim jacket, and I had these heeled boots on. I felt weird. Like I was showing off things on my body that I had never showed off before.

My hair was scarily different, too. It wasn't dead straight. Andromeda had put a semi-permanent charm on it to make it wavy. I ran my hands through it. It felt different, somewhat healthier. I kind of liked it, actually. Last but not least, my makeup. Sure, it was natural-ish, but it made my skin glow. It made me look different.

"What do you think?" Andromeda asked.

"I'm just trying to take the outfit in. I love the hair, but...the outfit..."

"Isabel, you look amazing," Tonks said to me. "It shows off your Veela genes!"

"I don't know if I want to..."

"Why are you so afraid of change, my dear?" Andromeda asked. "Maybe changing your appearance a bit might boost your self confidence and help you find who you are again, because this girl I am looking at is certainly not you." Andromeda was right. This was the wake up call that I needed. I had spent so much time sulking, telling myself that I was the fault...the cause of all this...but I never did anything about it. It was time to change. It was time I grew up and started acting like a Snape for once.

"You're right," I said, turning in my high-heeled boots towards them. "I need to stop this. This isn't me. What I did to Sirius and Remus wasn't me, either."

"I'm proud of you, darling. Now, we have the spare room all set up, you can sleep in there. And if you'd like, you can stay longer."

I nodded at Andromeda, accepting her offer. "I think it'd be wise. I'll go back to Grimmauld Place to collect a few things tomorrow."

"I'm glad. Now, come here, my girls!" Andromeda opened her arms, and Tonks and I both hugged her back. She kissed us both on the head and smiled. "Time for bed. It's late. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ma," Tonks said with a grin.

"Goodnight, Andie."

* * *

I walked into the kitchen the next morning to see Ted and Andromeda in a deep discussion. I stopped at the door, and they both turned to me. I knew I had intruded on their conversation, the only problem was that I didn't know how heated the discussion was. Were Ted and Andromeda arguing? I couldn't tell, I only hoped it wasn't to do with me.

"I'm sorry...was I interrupting something?" I asked. Ted walked over and gave me a gentle pat on the back, a grin on his face.

"Not at all. It's good to have you here with us." Ted nodded then left the room. I looked to Andromeda and raised my eyebrows.

"What was that all about? It was a little odd..."

"Nothing that you need to worry about, darling," she said. "Now , what are you going to do today? Are you going to stay here again tonight?"

"If I'm welcome."

"Of course you're welcome. Are you going to go back to Grimmauld Place?" My thoughts went back to Sirius...his face the moment I told him what happened between Remus and I...the things he said to me. "Isabel, sweetheart," Andromeda said, bringing me back to the present. "I know you're thinking about it...don't. You made a mistake, and now it's in the past. Now, you have to go back to Grimmauld Place and collect the things you need. If Sirius talks to you, fantastic. If he belittles you, ignore it."

* * *

I stood at the steps of Twelve Grimmauld Place, staring at the front door. Maybe I should not have listened to Andromeda. Maybe it was the wrong move to come back here so quickly. I turned away from the door, then turned back, then turned away, and turned back again. I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes. _'You can do this, Isabel. You'll be okay.' _I breathed out and marched up to the front door. I turned the door knob, opened the door, then slammed it behind me. Shit, that was stupid. Why would I slam it? I walked down the hallway slowly and as quietly as I could - hoping I would not draw attention to myself. Suddenly, someone behind me coughed. I jumped and turned around.

"Isabel," Sirius breathed out at the sight of me.

"Sirius." He looked like he hadn't slept, and like he had been drinking for the past twelve hours. I didn't know what else to say to him. I didn't want to get down on my knees, crying and begging for forgiveness. If he wanted to forgive me, he would. If he didn't, I would just have to live with that horrible mistake that I made.

"You look different," he mumbled, taking in my new appearance, from the more form-fitting clothes and wavy hair, to the makeup. "Slightly sexier than usual." Sirius shook his head and coughed. "Why are you here?" He asked, keeping his distance from me.

"I just came to collect a few things," I said softly. "Andromeda offered me a bedroom, I think I'll take it up. I won't be in your way for too much longer."

"You don't have to," Sirius said. He was calling me a whore yesterday, and now today he was saying I didn't have to move out after cheating on him? I wasn't going to let myself get away with this. I was in the wrong and I had to deal with the consequences, even if Sirius didn't give me any to deal with.

"Sirius, it's inappropriate for me to still be here after what I did to you."

"You definitely made a huge bloody mistake, that's for sure. I don't know anyone sane that would sleep with their boyfriend's best friend," Sirius said. I hung my head in shame. It was completely true what he was saying, it just hurt to hear it. "However, I think you underestimate how much I love you. I just need to know if you love me that much back."

"You know I love you."

"Do I, because as far as I'm concerned you slept with my best friend!"

"And it was a mistake!" I cried. "Some stupid fucking mistake! I hate myself for it. I'm not going to lie to you, Sirius...I love Remus. I love Remus more than I should love him, but through all of this, there has been one thing that has never changed. I love you more than anything, Sirius. It must have been fate for us to end up together, and I know what I have done is wrong." I shook my head to stop myself. No begging. "I think we need some time apart, Sirius. You need time apart to think about what I have done and whether we want to continue what we have."

I sighed and walked up the stairs and into my room. There was glass scattered all over the floor, and a picture frame right in the middle of it. I picked up the frame to see a torn picture of Sirius and I. I heard footsteps behind me, so I turned around, frame in hand, ready for an explanation.

"As soon as you left," Sirius said once he reached the doorway. "As soon as you walked out the door I picked it up and threw it on the floor. I cried for a bit, and then realised that I had torn the picture. I haven't been in this room since." I had hurt Sirius that much to the point that he cried. Merlin, I screwed up so badly. Hopefully, I could fix something today. I took out my wand and pointed it at the frame and the picture.

"Reparo," I said. The glass and the frame came back together, and the picture repaired itself. Moments later, sitting on the shelf, was the picture, the same way it was a week ago. "I'm sorry, the picture means too much for me. I can't see it sitting there destroyed." Sirius and I stared at each other in silence for a few moments, but I then realised that I needed to go. I threw a bag onto the bed, then stuffed my underwear, nightclothes, robes, shoes, various books and such into the bag. Andromeda had assured me that she had a new wardrobe set out for me, so I didn't bother taking any of my dresses. Once I had finished, I walked past Sirius and went down the stairs without another word. I was handling this surprisingly well.

"Wait, Isabel," Sirius called out before my fingers made contact with the door handle.

"I need to ask you something before you leave," he said, walking down the stairs. I dropped my bag next to my feet and turned back to face Sirius. He reached the bottom of the stairs and stood in front of me.

"I just need to ask one thing," he told me, putting his hand to my cheek, and running his other hand through my hair. I closed my eyes, enjoying his soft and gentle touch. I opened my eyes and looked into his striking grey ones. "Do you want to make this work again, or is this it?" I reached for his hand entwined my fingers in his, bringing it down from my cheek.

"When I say that I love you, I mean it," I said. I let go of his hand, picked up my bag then walked out the door. As I was walking down the street, I wondered that if Remus asked me the same question, if I would reply with the exact same answer as I did to Sirius.

* * *

**A/N: I am so, so, so, so, so very sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I have had a lot going on at the moment, but I hope it was worth the wait.**

**So, recap, Isabel and Tonks made up, Isabel got a make over and Sirius and Isabel had a meaningful chat. Doesn't seem like a lot, but I tell you, the next couple of chapters, ESPECIALLY CHAPTER 78, will be massive. **

**REVIEWS, GUYS! I know you can do it! Pick your game back up! If you get past 503 (that's 10 reviews!) by next chapter I'll give you a special sneak peek to Chapter 78!**

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**Next Chapter - **

You have a lot of time to think when you have done something wrong. It puts things into perspective and eventually you learn which path you need to take. Upsetting people along the path will always happen, and you'll lose and gain people along the way. The one constant along my path over the past year or so has been Sirius. I could not imagine my life without him anymore, nor could I imagine my life without Remus. I needed to make a decision though, stringing them both along had not been fair. Today would be the day where I announced who I wanted, no questions asked.


	75. The Happy Place

**Thanks to: SA8M, HPFAN, YUNeLenna, Morgana7, ZabuzasGirl, Hi & TheDiva121 for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Where the Story Ends by The Fray  
**__**Love Out Of Lust by Lykke Li**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

You have a lot of time to think when you have done something wrong. It puts things into perspective and eventually you learn which path you need to take. Upsetting people along the path will always happen, and you'll lose and gain people along the way. The one constant along my path over the past year or so has been Sirius. I could not imagine my life without him anymore, nor could I imagine my life without Remus. They had both kept me sane in some ways. Sirius gave me a sense of risk. He was a challenge that I desperately needed. Remus on the other hand kept me balanced. He would catch me if I fell. He would be so reassuring and I knew that when I was in his arms, nothing could go wrong. He was my sense of safety.

Looking back on it now, making the mistake that I did had changed me in a big way. Andromeda and Tonks had changed me physically, but now I had changed mentally. I wasn't the immature twenty year old anymore. I had grown a backbone. I wasn't sitting and crying about it anymore, I was reflecting on my faults that I had made with both of the men that I loved dearly.

I had said numerous times before that I would make a decision to be with only one of them, but I never followed through with it. I had said to Remus that it would always be Sirius, and I ended up telling him I loved him and sleeping with the guy. Stringing them both along had not been fair. Today would be the day where I announced who I wanted, and I would not change my mind. I would not string them along anymore.

Remus. I still remember the day I bumped into him and Flourish & Blotts. To think it was a few years ago is just scary. I can recall the exact moment my eyes met his. It was like everything had softened inside me. We became friends so quickly, and what do you know, he kisses me. He was never the love at first sight for me, but I grew to be in love with him. Sometimes that can be the best type of love, the one that grows...the one that has time to be nurtured. At one point I was sure that we would end up together - until he left me that day. I still question to this day why he left me. His reason didn't seem good enough. I had always felt that there was something bigger behind it all.

So I was miserable. The man that I had fallen in love with cut off all contact with me. I didn't know what to do with myself. That was until I got to know Sirius. At first, I hated the guy. I thought he was an arrogant prick and I wanted nothing to do with him. Why would I want to help someone that absolutely loathed me? I closed my eyes and remember the way he held me after what happened with Lucius. I remember the way he told me I was brave, and the way he put a smile back on my face when no one else was able to. It took less time for me to fall in love with Sirius than it did with Remus. For some reason, I enjoyed how fast everything went. I felt like I needed someone there with me. Sirius changed everything. He changed my way of thinking and feeling, and being with him physically was just different. It was like we were made for each other. Everything was going so, so well.

And then Remus came back.

I was angry. How dare he leave me. Especially in the way he did. However, all my feelings that I had came back. I fell back in love with him. I tried to deny it, but I couldn't. There was so much tension between us for months and months, and then it just came bursting out. We slept together. I told him how I felt that night but I didn't even think of the consequences. I lost Sirius. I didn't know how much it'd hurt until I lost him.

And now, here I was, having to choose one of them to be with. I stared outside the window, hoping it'd give me some sort of guidance.

How was I supposed to choose?

_Knock, knock. _My bedroom door opened and closed. I turned around slowly to see Andromeda walk in with a two cups of tea. One for her, one for me. She sat down, kissed my head and smiled at me.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked me.

"I think you already know the answer to that."

"Are they all you think about?" Andromeda asked. I didn't even want to reply to that, because I was scared it would be a yes.

"I need to choose one of them," I said, holding my teacup next to my face. "The only problem is, I can't figure out which one."

"Which one makes you happier?"

"They both make me happy, Andromeda."

"Wrong answer. Darling, you need to think long and hard about this. Who makes you question your life and challenge you? Who do you have the emotional connection to, and who do you have the physical connection with. You need to think about all of these factors before making a decision. Being in love is definitely not one dimensional."

"I'm scared," I said softly, my voice quivering. Andromeda sighed and put her arms around me.

"What could you possibly be scared of, darling?"

"Losing both of them. What people would think of me. Making the wrong decision."

"Isabel, look at me. Look at me." Andromeda put her hands on my cheeks, then stroked my hair out of the way. "You need to listen to yourself. No one can tell you what to do anymore. The only person that knows what you feel is you. It would be irresponsible of me to tell you who to choose. You need to listen to your heart on this one. It is the only thing that will point you in the right direction." She smiled and stroked my cheek. I was so glad that I had her around. I would be in such trouble without her. "Now have your tea, darling. It'll clear your mind, and then you'll be able to work everything out. Hmm?"

"Thank you, Andie. For everything."

"Don't you mention it."

* * *

I breathed in deeply and knocked on the door of the small cottage. I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't want to do this, but I had to. There was no answer, so I knocked once more. Suddenly, the door opened, and I was staring into the eyes of Remus Lupin. I stared at him, speechless. I couldn't back out of this...I couldn't back out...

"Isabel, what are you doing here?" He asked. "Do you want to come in?" His eyes were so hopeful and so warm. He looked so happy. I didn't want to do this to him. It would be like stabbing him with a knife - I knew this would hurt. Somehow I felt like a hypocrite. It was only days ago that I told him I loved him, and that I wanted him. Now I was doing this.

But I had to do it. Or I would lose Sirius.

"No, Remus. This'll just be a quick visit," I said, lowering my head. I heard Remus sigh. He knew what I was here for.

"I - "

"You're here to tell me that you chose Sirius." My head snapped up, and my eyes connected with Remus'. They were sad. Remus' face had defeat written all over it. I just hoped Remus could understand. I didn't want to lose him.

"I'm sorry, Remus," I whispered.

"Why are you sorry? The heart wants what the heart wants. I'm just not what it wanted."

"You were. It's just that my heart wants Sirius that little bit more. Remus, I can't lose you. We've been close for so long. I couldn't bare it if you walked out of my life again. I love you dearly." My eyes pleaded with his. If he left me again I wouldn't know what to do.

"I wouldn't be able to live without you, either, Isabel. This is hard for me, though. I've spent so long loving you, only to hear you prefer my best friend -"

"You deserve better than me, anyway, Remus! I'm nothing special. You're going to meet someone else who you'll love one thousand times more than you've ever loved me." I smiled at him and took his hand. I wanted him to smile back at me. I wanted him to realise that even if we weren't together, I still wanted him to be happy.

"I don't think that's ever going to happen. I'll never love anyone more than I have loved you."

"Remus - "

"But I understand. I shouldn't have left you, you fell in love with Sirius, there is nothing I'm able to do about it. He challenges you, something that I never have been able to do. You're perfectly matched for each other. I'm not going to get angry at Sirius. He deserves you more than I do." My heart broke at Remus' words, but I'm glad he wasn't going to be angry. Remus leaned down and kissed my cheek softly. His touch was so gentle.

"Remus - "

"Go to Sirius. He'll want to hear the news."

"Remus - "

"Isabel, I'm sending you on your way. I'm sending you to your happy place...and that's not with a poor werewolf like me."

"Remus - "

"Isabel, please. Let go. Your dreams are bigger than I am. Go to Sirius. Be with him. You being sad and being lonely, because of me, that makes me sick. It makes me feel physically ill that I cause you this emotional pain. Let go."

"I don't want to let go," I cried. I was attempting to control my tears, but it wasn't working. I had told myself I would be composed, but I was the complete opposite. I was crying hysterically. But, I had to. This was apart of choosing someone over someone else. I was going to be upset, and so was he. I had to do this the hard way, though. I had to do what he was asking me to. I needed to let go. He kissed my head and laughed into my hair.

"You were always quite difficult. You're not going to lose me just because you didn't choose me, Isabel. I need you to surrender, and I need you to go back to the person who makes you the happiest." I sniffed and breathed in deeply. I nodded at Remus as he leaned down to kiss my head again. "Goodbye, Isabel," he whispered. His hand, that somehow had found its way in mine, let go. He stepped away and closed his front door. It felt like he was closing a chapter of my life.

* * *

"Sirius?" I called out as I closed the front door to Twelve Grimmauld Place behind me. "Sirius, where are you?" I walked down the hallway until I was stopped by Sirius himself from walking any further.

"Why are you back here?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I have to tell you something that just happened. I feel like I need to be completely honest with you from now on after what I did," I said. "I need to take responsibility for every single action."

"Let me guess, you slept with him again?"

"I told him that everything that was going on between us was over. Actually, in all honesty, he knew that I was going to say that anyway. So, everything between Remus and I is over. I chose you, Sirius. You're an absolute arse sometimes, but I am so lucky to have you in my life. I love you more than anything, Sirius." Sirius looked surprised.

"You...you chose me?

"Why are you so shocked?" I asked.

"Because Remus deserves you far more than I do." I shook my head and let out a soft giggle. "What's so funny?"

"He said the exact same thing about you. Sirius, I just want to be here. I needed to be here to tell you how in love with you I am. I think you are the most amazing human being that I know. I don't expect forgiveness to come my way easily. I know what I did was wrong, and I'm taking responsibility for that, but I can't bare the thought of me not ever waking up next to you in the morning ever again." I took Sirius' hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry for what I did to you, Sirius." Sirius glanced down at our entwined hands, then looked back up at me.

"You're forgiven," Sirius said softly, before leaning in to kiss me softly. We went deeper and deeper into the kiss, and I knew I had made the right decision. I stopped and leaned back.

"So, does this mean that we're officially back together?" I asked Sirius with a huge smile on my face. Sirius grinned back and nodded.

"It does. And did I mention how much sexier you look."

"Andromeda did it. And Tonks."

"Well they did a bloody good job," Sirius said before launching himself on me again.

* * *

**A/N: There you have it. What do you guys think? Again, do you think this is the end of the line for Remus and Isabel? I know many of you will be angry at this, but there are still plenty of chapters along the way.**

**Speaking of plenty of chapters, chapter 78 is coming up quick. It will be MASSIVE.**

**Sorry for the short-ish chapter this chapter. I feel bad.**

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**REEEVIEEWWWWWW! The reviews are much more accessible now so you have no excuse not to review! (insert evil laugh here). I would also really appreciate if all those people who favourited/story alerted my story would review too! Even if it's just a few words. I love feedback!**

**Next Chapter -  
**Isabel & Fleur return to France after the Mother sends a distress call to Fleur.


	76. Saving Mother

**Thanks to: ZabuzasGirl, IcyRose66, tonealeanncurtis, YUNeLenna, HPFan, plumply plooper (right...), LaFlorine and TheDiva121 for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**The Sister's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Wonderful Life by Hurts**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I felt safe in Sirius' arms again. He held me close, and I could feel and hear his heartbeat. It was so comforting...so reassuring. I wondered why I ever questioned being in a relationship with Sirius now that we were back to this. Suddenly, I was woken up by a loud knock on the door. I looked up to see Fleur had barged in. I pulled the covers up and squinted at my younger sister. Bill walked in the room behind her.

"I take it you two are back together, then?" Bill said, raising his eyebrows, looking at Sirius sleeping soundly beside me. "You're looking very comfy..."

"We are not 'ere for zat, William!" Fleur shouted, slapping him on the arm.

"What's wrong, Fleur?" I asked, sitting up slowly.

"I got an urgent note from Mother! Father 'as hit 'er again!" My eyes widened and I jumped out of bed, not caring if I was wearing next to nothing. I saw Bill's expression as he took me in, but as soon as he saw my glare he shut his eyes and left the room.

"Give me a moment to get dressed. We're going to get her straight away."

"Do you think zat eez a good idea?" Fleur asked.

"Fleur, this is our mother. Whether I am overreacting or not, we need to make sure she's okay," I put my hand on Fleur's shoulder. "I know that he's your father and you don't want to believe that he's done this to Mother, but we need to do this, not just for Mother, but for Gabrielle too." I could see it in Fleur's eyes that she didn't want to do this, like she couldn't believe that Louis would do this. I pat her on the shoulder and kissed her cheek.

"Go join Bill. I'll get dressed and say goodbye to Sirius, then we'll leave." Fleur nodded then left the room. I went over to my draws to get out the new clothes that Andie had bought me, then began putting them on. Whilst I dressed myself, Sirius began to stir. He opened his eyes, then sat up and stared at me.

"Leaving so soon?" He asked, a lop sided grin on his face. "I didn't think last night was that bad..."

"Don't be stupid," I told him, slipping on my skinny black jeans. "Fleur and Bill are here. Fleur came with some bad news."

"There's an Order meeting today? Damn, that means we can't spend all day in bed..."

"Sirius, her father is hitting my mother." Sirius stopped grinning and sat up.

"What?"

"She got an urgent note from Mother. I need to go to France today and check up on her."

"Of course. Go," Sirius said. "I don't want something happening, and then you feeling guilty because you did nothing about it." I finished putting my high heeled boots on, then went to sit on the bed next to Sirius. I kissed him gently, enjoying every moment of it. Sirius pulled back and kissed my head. "I love you."

"I love you," I whispered.

"Now go. Fleur and your mother need you." I was glad Sirius was so understanding about this. I stood up and walked backwards out of the room, wand in hand. I didn't break my eye contact with him until I shut the door. I wondered why I was feeling so clingy to Sirius this morning. I had never usually been like this. Maybe it's because of all that has happened, and that I was afraid to lose him again. I walked down the stairs slowly, as I was still getting used to these very high, thin heels that Andromeda had put me in. I reached Fleur and Bill at the bottom of the stairs, and they both gave me strange looks.

"You look different," Bill said.

"Yes, yes, I know, but it really isn't important right now, is it, Bill?"

"I guess not."

"Now, how are we getting back to France?" I asked Fleur.

"Apparition?" Fleur replied.

"Are you confident enough to do that?"

"Yes," Fleur nodded. She turned to Bill and kissed him on the lips. In a way, I was glad Bill and Fleur were together. My sister and my best friend. They would be good for each other. Once Bill had given Fleur one last kiss, he walked over to me and hugged me. I didn't realise how much I really missed Bill until now. I have hardly seen him since his last day at Hogwarts. It baffled me how we were still this close. I guess friendships like this don't die out.

"What will you be doing today?" I asked Bill.

"Probably hang around here with Sirius."

"Keep an eye on him, will you?"

"He's a big boy, Isabel, he can handle himself."

"Please, William," I pleaded.

"How can I resist those eyes? Fine. Now you two need to go." Fleur and I glanced at each other, then nodded. We really did need to leave. We made our way onto the front steps of Twelve Grimmauld Place, then apparated away when there we no more people on the street.

* * *

We stood at the doorstep of the Delacour Mansion...my old home. I stared around at the scenery surrounding us. France was beautiful, and it had not changed a bit. It was just the way I remembered it. It had been nearly a decade since I had been here last. Did I miss it? I missed the land. I missed the scenery. However, that was the only thing I missed (apart from Mother and Gabrielle).

"Are you ready to do zis?" Fleur asked. "I know eet will be 'ard on you, seeing Mother and Father again."

"He isn't my Father, so it won't be hard seeing him." I sighed, seeing Fleur's reaction to my comment. "Let's just go in." Fleur nodded and knocked on the door, then opened it slowly. I stepped onto the marble floor, feeling like it was just yesterday that I had been kicked out. Fleur grabbed my hand and followed behind me. I could feel her and hear her breath. She was nervous and frightened. I don't think it was about seeing Louis, but it was most likely about seeing how our Mother was, and what state she was in.

"Stay close to me," she whispered to me. I simply nodded at her. We both froze when we heard footsteps coming in our direction. "What eef eets 'im," she whispered. I squeezed her hand, and with my other hand I held out my wand. I would not be afraid to engage in a duel with Louis, because I was confident I could beat him now. He wouldn't have learned from the people that I have learned from. Just as I expected, walking around the corner and towards us, was Louis, my step-father from hell.

"Well, look who eet eez!" Louis exclaimed at the sight of me. He walked towards me and stood over me, expecting to intimidate me.

"Fleur, go find Mother," I said.

"But, Isabel, what if he - "

"GO!" I shouted at her. She took two steps away from me and then ran through the nearest door on our right to go find our Mother. I looked up at Louis and held my ground. I was not a little girl anymore.

"Haven't you grown up?" He said, circling me like a shark would circle its prey.

"If you think you are going to intimidate me, it isn't going to work," I spat. "I've dealt with worse than you."

"What do you mean worse than me, angel?" I flinched at that name. He used to call me that when I was a child, and I hoped that after I was kicked out I wouldn't have to hear it again. "Did that hurt you a little, angel?" Again, hearing it...I just wanted to whip my wand out and blast him back thirty years. He was disgusting. He had changed, ever since the day he found out that I wasn't his. He had gone from being a respected, family loving man to someone like Lucius. He backed me up against the wall and grabbed my throat.

"I like the fact that you and I 'ave no shared blood," he said, smirking at me. I was struggling against him, just so I could breathe, but he was too strong, and I did not like where this conversation was heading. "Do you know what that means, angel?" He leaned in close to me, and I could feel his breath on my neck. My breathing was becoming more erratic as I became frightened. "It means I can do the same things to you as I do to Apolline. And I would take great pleasure in doing it, because you have grown up to become a very sexy young woman, that's for sure." That was it. I wasn't going to take this anymore. I kicked him in the ribs then took out my wand and pointed it at him, gaining my breath back slowly.

"I'm not a little play thing you can throw around," I spat, glaring at him.

"You are very stupid, crossing me."

"I tend to think it's the other way around," I said, still holding my wand at the ready. "I was taught by some of the greatest wizards and witches in the wizarding community."

"You're still just a little girl," he said, before sending a curse my way. I blocked it, then sent one back to him, knocking him off his feet. Fleur ran back into the room and stared at her Father who was on the floor, looking up at us.

"Fleur, my flower! Come help Daddy!" Louis pleaded with his daughter. I rolled my eyes and pointed my wand at him again.

"Incarcerous," I said. Moments later, Louis was bound, unable to escape. Fleur's eyes were wide, but I could tell that she understood why I had to do it. "Have you found her, Fleur?" Fleur shook her head, and she looked very pale.

"No." I sighed and looked down at Louis. I didn't care if I had to torture him, I wanted to know where my Mother was.

"We can do this the easy way," I said, "which would be my way. Or, we can do this the hard way, which would also be my way, but a hell of a lot longer." I was standing over him, stamping my authority. "Now, I'll be nice at first. Where is my Mother, and what did you do to her?" I kneeled down beside him, and all he did was glare at me and spit in my direction. He was definitely getting off to a bad start. "I'll ask you again, where is she?"

"Why would you even care?"

"You're asking all the wrong questions, and answering me in the completely wrong way. Tell me where she is."

"You lost any right to make demands of me after you were kicked out."

"Are you really that stupid to agitate me further?"

"You're asking all the wrong questions," he replied with a smirk. I was furious. He was toying with my Mother's life, and he had the guts to joke, even with a body-bind curse on him. I wasn't playing nice anymore. I turned to Fleur and looked at her apologetically.

"I suggest you turn away, Fleur, unless you want to see your father in pain."

"I just want to know where Mother ees," she said, folding her arms. I turned back to Louis and kneeled next to him, and pressed my wand onto his cheek. Moments later, he was crying and writhing in pain. Fleur looked on with a blank expression.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Stinging hex, and a painful one of that." After a few more screams of pain, I took the wand from his skin, and he glared up at me. "Want to tell me where she is now?" After he didn't respond, I placed my wand back onto his skin, only this time, his skin started to burn. His screams of pain only became louder and louder.

"Muffliato," Fleur said, waving her wand around the area so no one would be able to hear us...or him.

"Tell me where my mother is!" I snapped at Louis when I stopped burning his skin.

"I could get you arrested for this."

"And then I'd just have you arrested for hitting my mother. Where is she?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Wrong answer." I placed my wand on his skin once more, and I could only think of one more spell that would really hurt him without resorting to the Unforgivable Curses. "Sectumsempra." He began to bleed, and once he realised that, his eyes went wide and he looked up at me.

"Dungeons," he said. "She's in the dungeons." I took my wand away and stood up.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" I said, shaking my head at him. "Come along, Fleur. We're going to get our mother out of this mansion and away from him." Fleur and I ran down the nearest set of stairs we could find. As we got further down and closer to the dungeons, it became colder and colder. How dare he keep her down here. She could be sick - she could even die. I just really wanted to kill him. Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a gate. We opened it as quickly as we could, and once we got into the dungeons, we looked around. In the corner, sat a very thin, blonde woman, who was crying.

"Mama!" Fleur and I shouted at the same time. She looked up, and covered her mouth in shock, before crying even more. I used my wand to take the chains off that Louis had put on her.

"Mes filles, my girls!" Mother cried, putting her arms around us.

"Ma mère! Je suis désolé, I'm so sorry," I cried. "My mama."

"My Isabel! My girl, how I have missed you."

"Je suis désolé Mama." It had nearly been ten years since she had held me in her arms. I missed my mother. My beautiful, tall, blonde mother. However, she was a different person now. She had bruises all over her body, bite marks and scars. Fleur cried whilst she ran her hand over some of them. "Why did you not escape?"

"I couldn't. I'm sorry, my girls. I'm sorry."

"This is not your fault," I said, taking her hands. "Do you hear me? This is his fault."

"You are coming to live with me, Mother," Fleur said. "You are not staying 'ere any longer."

"But - "

"There are no buts!" I shouted. "Look at what he has done to you, Mother!"

"He is my husband..."

"What kind of husband hurts their wife like this? You are not going to be staying here any longer." Fleur and I helped her up, and put one arm each over our shoulder. "Lets get you out of here."

"But what about my belongings?"

"I will come back and get them later," Fleur said. "I promise."

Mother did not say anything more. She fell silent as we began helping her up the stairs. We walked through the entrance hall, where she spotted Louis on the ground, holding his stomach, coughing. Once he spotted us, he stood up and started to come towards us. I took out my wand and flicked it, and Louis went flying into the wall behind him. We continued helping Mother out of the house, and once we were outside, we apparated to Fleur's.

* * *

Mother sat on Fleur's couch, drinking out of her teacup slowly. Her injuries looked even more horrific than they were before. I didn't think that what he had done to her was as bad as it actually was. I sat down next to Mother on the couch and took her hands. They were as cold as ice, I was hoping I could warm them up a little. I felt guilty, not going to France and doing something about this earlier. I felt like it was partially my fault.

"You are so beautiful," Mother said to me. "You just grew up to be stunning."

"Why did he do this to you?" I whispered, ignoring Mother's comments. Mother sniffed, then put her head in her hands.

"It's complicated," she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Please, just tell me."

"He wanted to get back at me for cheating on him with Severus. He thought physical abuse and raping me was the best way to go about it. It was't just physical abuse, it was emotional abuse, too. There wasn't one night I didn't go to bed frightened that I wouldn't wake up the next morning. What he did to me...I can't explain it in words," Mother said. I started to cry again. I could not believe he made her feel that worthless and that terrible.

"I'm sorry, I should have come to you earlier."

"I am the sorry one. I should have never let him kick you out of the house. But as I have been hearing in letters from Fleur, your life is okay over here. You have a serious boyfriend, am I correct?" Trust my mother, who has just been tortured, to bring up my personal life, especially my romantic personal life. "What is his name? What does he do?"

"Sirius Black." Mother gasped.

"_The _Sirius Black?"

"So you've heard of him?"

"Would you care to tell me, Miss Isabel Snape, why you are dating a murderer!"

"He's not a murderer, he didn't do it. He's Harry Potter's godfather, Mother. He didn't do it - even Dumbledore knows it. He was framed."

"How serious is it getting between you two?" I laughed at Mother and kissed her cheek. She worried me sometimes.

"Never mind right now. You need your rest. Now, I need to get home. I'm sorry, I know you want to spend time with me but I have a few things I need to attend to. Fleur should take care of you, as should her boyfriend when he gets home. I'm sure Fleur will tell you all about him." I kissed my mother's cheeks again. I missed her being so close. "And maybe we can watch some of those Muggle musicals?" Mother smiled and shut her eyes. She was probably remembering all those times we sung and danced along to them.

"Until tomorrow," I whispered to my mother. I was happy that she was here with Fleur. I wouldn't let anyone hurt her anymore. I could protect her. I could save her. I could do the things a daughter was supposed to do.

* * *

**A/N: The reaction to last chapter just wowed me. I know I hurt a lot of Remus/Isabel shippers. I apologise. I get what you must be feeling. Remember, it's a long story.**

**What did you guys think of that one?**

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**Next Chapter -  
**Things had been a lot quieter lately. Weeks had passed, and everything was relatively calm. It was the 17th of June. It was hard to believe that half the year had gone this quickly. It was funny, we were supposedly entering a war, but I felt nothing but calm. I had a good feeling that the next few weeks would be great for me, and great for Sirius.

* * *

"Marry me," he said.

"What?"


	77. Breathe

**Thanks to: Guest, Mel, Guest, HPFan, LaFlorine, tonealeanncurtis and ZabuzasGirl for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Sirius' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Here We Go by Matt Kearney  
**__**Bloodstream by Stateless**_

_******Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**_

* * *

Things had been a lot quieter lately. Weeks had passed, and everything was relatively calm. It was the 17th of June. It was hard to believe that half the year had gone this quickly. It was funny, we were supposedly entering a war, but I felt nothing but calm. I had a good feeling that the next few weeks would be great for me, and great for Sirius. Fleur was bringing Mother over today. Bill was going to come, and so was Andromeda and Molly, who said she was bringing someone with her. I was nervous, because Mother would be meeting Sirius. I wondered if she would approve of him...given the age gap...but Mama would only want me to be happy, right?

Remus and I had hardly talked. He had kept clear of here. I didn't blame him. Why would he want to be around Sirius and I? I missed him, though. I missed his smile and his warmth. I missed the times he would listen to me, even if he was completely disinterested in the subject. I knew what I was giving up when I chose Sirius, I just didn't think it'd be like this.

I was in the kitchen, preparing food for our guests today. I knew Molly would get angry at me if I didn't have more than enough for the people coming over.

"Molly?" Sirius said, appearing at the door.

"Molly," I replied, nodding.

"Need any help?" I put down the knife that I was cutting sandwiches with and turned to Sirius. "What? What is it?"

"My Mother. You're going to meet my mother."

"I know," Sirius replied, raising his eyebrows.

"No, I just mean, I really want you two to get along - "

"What do you mean you want us to get along? Why don't you think we won't get along?"

"Sirius, she is a rich woman from France who has hardly ever left her mansion apart from the odd party or two. And she knows about you, going into Azkaban, even though I told her you were innocent. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I just want you to be careful with what you say," I said to him with a stern look.

"So no talk of shagging and such?"

"Sirius!" I hit him on the arm and folded my arms. "I'm not joking. I want you to get along and you won't get along if you make distasteful comments to my mother about us. So please, I am begging you, just for today, can you please think before you say anything."

"This is important for you, isn't it?" He asked.

"I just got her back. I don't want to lose her." Sirius kissed me on the head and put his arms around me, holding me tightly.

"I would never let you lose her." I smiled, taking in his scent. I enjoyed this sense of security I had with him. I knew that he would never get up and leave me. That was the one thing that made me feel safe with him. I knew I'd never be alone.

* * *

Andromeda, Fleur, Bill and Mother all arrived at midday on the dot. Mother's face when she saw Sirius for the first time had me nervous. She looked him up and down, then looked at me. I walked forward and put my arms around her to break the tension. Besides, I liked hugging Mother. It had been years since I had been able to do it - why not make up for lost time? Once I had finished greeting Mother, I hugged Fleur and kissed her cheek, then hugged Bill. Then, it was Andromeda's turn. I practically jumped into her arms. She kissed my head and smiled.

"I'm so proud of you," she said to me. I could tell she was referring to my choice between Remus and Sirius. I looked over Andie's shoulder to see Mother. I didn't understand the expression on her face. Was it jealousy? It couldn't have been. Why would Mother get jealous that I was close to Andie? Surely Mother knew that I was her daughter no matter what? This was just another problem that I didn't need. I wasn't going to say anything, hopefully this would just smooth over itself.

"I'm so glad you're all here," I said.

"We're 'appy to be 'ere," Fleur replied with a smile.

"Is Mum coming?" Bill asked.

"She should be here. It's odd, she's never late." I turned to Mother, who seemed taken aback by Sirius. "Mama, have you met Sirius?"

"We have not been properly introduced," Sirius said. I nodded at him and half smiled, he was off to a good start.

"Mama, this is Sirius. Sirius, this is my mother, Apolline." Sirius held out his hand and bowed his head at my mother.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Isabel has nothing but good things to say about you."

"Is that so?" Mother said, her eyebrows raised. She took his hand and shook it gently. "Well, I cannot argue with that, can I, Mr. Black?"

"Please, Sirius, I insist."

"Then I insist you call me Apolline." I was shocked at how well this conversation was going between them. I could only hope that it continued on this well. Moments later, the front door opened, and there was Molly, with a big grin on her face.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Molly said, walking into the house. "I had trouble dragging this one out of bed." She turned to the doorway, and so did everyone else. Walking up the stairs and through the door was Charlie. I gasped and ran over in my high heels, and threw my arms around him, laughing. It was like my big brother had returned. He laughed and held me tightly. I closed my eyes and enjoyed this moment. I had not seen him since before the First Task. I would not let him go for such a long time again.

"I'm so happy to see you," I cried. Charlie let go of me and twirled me around.

"Look at you! You are looking absolutely stunning, my darling."

"And you are looking very handsome yourself," I replied with a grin.

"What can I say? I am just perfection." I rolled my eyes at him. He always thought he was hilarious.

"Mother, may I introduce one of my best friends, Charlie Weasley. Charlie, this is my mother from France, Apolline." Charlie shook her hand and smiled at her.

"Your daughter is quite the stunning young woman, isn't she?"

"I always thought that the black hair made her look simply incredible," Mother replied.

"This is just turning out to be an absolute love fest. Before it does, I believe we should go into the dining room and have a bit of lunch - "

"We're not eating in the kitchen?" Molly asked.

"We thought that maybe it'd be better if we held lunch in a nicer venue, Molly. Sirius even has one of his best wines out for the occasion."

"Well, I most definitely won't miss out on that one then!" Bill said, walking into the dining room with Sirius and Charlie. I had a feeling they would be spending most of their time together today, considering they were the only men in the house. I wanted Bill, Charlie and Sirius to get along and become great friends. I think Sirius could do with the good company. Us women followed them into the dining room and took out seats at the table.

* * *

There was an audible clink of the wine glasses before everyone took one sip.

"This is fantastic wine, Sirius," Bill said. "Is it elf made?"

"It is, but I think the most impressive thing about it is that it's from fifty years ago, years before I was born. So it's quite old," Sirius replied with a grin. I had not seen him this happy in so long. I think having people around him to communicate with was really starting to make him a happier person.

"They say the older the wine, the better. How did you come across it, dear cousin?" Andromeda asked Sirius.

"It belonged to Father," he replied.

"Ah, Orion. However did you manage to claim it?"

"I stole it from him before he kicked me out. I thought it'd be the perfect way to part ways with him."

"You were kicked out?" Mother asked. Here it was. She was starting to get judgmental. I could see it in her eyes. I couldn't believe after what she had been through that she was starting to judge the man that I wanted to be with. I would suggest that she should have a look at her own husband first, but that would only be stupid. It would just push her away.

"Yes," Sirius replied. I could tell that he didn't want to talk about it, but he continued on. "When I was sixteen. I could not bare the torture at home anymore. My parents were pure-blood enthusiasts, you see. They wished that all muggle-borns and muggles would die. They wanted them wiped off the face of the earth. They thought them to be inferior The problem was that I didn't agree with them. I had friends that were muggle-born and half-blood. I didn't care for the prejudice. They didn't like it, so they kicked me out and I went to live with my best friend."

"So whose house is this that we are in?" Mother asked.

"This is the house that I grew up in and the house I was kicked out of. When my parents died, as the eldest male in the Black line it was left to me. Now it belongs to Isabel and I." The table had gone silent. The dark conversation had dampened the mood. "I'm sorry, this conversation isn't exactly the brightest of things. But now, you know, I'm happier. I have Isabel. I don't deserve her and I don't understand how I still have her. Your daughter is an incredible woman, Apolline," Sirius said, smiling at me. Andromeda, Fleur and Molly had gone off into their own private conversation, as did Bill and Charlie.

"Tell me about her, then," Mother said to Sirius. "I hardly know my daughter. I have not seen her since 1986, and it's 1996. I just want to know about my daughter, and who she is. What she does. Tell me everything." Sirius looked to me, then back to my mother, then back to me. I simply nodded at him. I found it sweet that she wanted to know the things that she had missed out on.

"Isabel has the most patience anyone could ever have. She's feisty, and she has a temper on her that could probably wipe out an entire city. She is compassionate and loving and caring. And she's honest and genuine. And she's the most gorgeous looking woman I have ever met in my whole life, and I can see where that comes from, Apolline. You have the two most beautiful women I have seen as daughters, and Gabrielle is probably as beautiful as them too." Mother smiled at Sirius' words, as did I. I had never seen him be so honest about his feelings to anyone before. "I'm so lucky to have her, Apolline. You do not know, and you will never know how much I appreciate your daughter."

"I do know," Mother said softly to him, nodding her head. "I hear the way you talk about her. The way you look at her. I was very suspicious of you at first..."

"Who wouldn't be?" Sirius laughed.

"And then I saw the way you are with her. You're gentle with her. You treat her like a fragile gift and I like that."

"So, does this mean that I have passed the test?" Sirius asked with a grin. I rolled my eyes and laughed, as did my Mother.

"I guess you have, Sirius," Mother said.

"These sandwiches are great!" Bill called from the other end of the table. "I do applaud you, Isabel."

"Thank you, William, although, I did learn from the best herself," I said, looking towards Molly. She bowed her head in thanks. Seconds later, we all froze, hearing the front door close. Everyone turned to look at me, thinking I may know who it is. "I didn't invite anyone else. I'm sure they will show themselves soon enough." And they did. They opened the door, and then stopped when they made eye contact with Sirius and I.

"Remus," I breathed out. "W-wha-what are you doing here?"

"Oh," he said, looking around at the table. "Am I interrupting something? I'm sorry, I'll come back another time." Remus turned around, but then Sirius stood up. I grabbed his arm. I was afraid he was going to hurt him. But Sirius shrugged out of my grip and walked towards Remus.

"Wait, Moony." Moony? He was calling Remus by his nickname? Remus stopped and turned to face Sirius. "Stay for lunch. We can pull up a chair for you next to Isabel and you can join us. We'd love to have you, mate." Remus looked between Sirius and I, and all I could do was smile. They were acting how they should be, like best friends. Brothers, even.

"Sure," Remus replied. Sirius waved his wand, and a chair and table setting appeared next to me. Remus sat down next to me and smiled his infectious smile. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever for?"

"Everything." I sighed. He was difficult, that was for sure.

"Remus, this is my mother, Apolline," I said. "Mother, this is one of my closest friends, Remus Lupin."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Madame," Remus said, bowing his head towards my mother. It was quite funny how they all bowed their heads - Mother must have thought it was hilarious. She was no descendant of royalty.

"And you, Mr. Lupin," Mother replied. I looked at Remus out of the corner of my eye and smiled. I was just happy to have him around.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon went off without a hitch, which was quite surprising considering the amount of things that could have gone wrong. I was nothing but thankful. We didn't need anymore drama in our lives - especially in Mother's. I think that she had a good time today. She really seemed to enjoy Molly's company, which made me happy, but there was one thing that I picked up on. Molly was ignoring Fleur the whole afternoon. Fleur had done nothing wrong to Molly that I knew of. And Fleur had been treating Bill well. What was the problem?

"Here." Sirius passed me a cup of tea, and I stared out the window looking out to Grimmauld Place.

"It's a beautiful night," I said, staring out the window.

"Almost as beautiful as you," he said.

"Are you trying to flatter me?"

"Is it working?" I laughed. I loved it when he joked. He was lighthearted and that is just what I needed - someone that made me feel happier, no matter what situation I was in. Someone to make me laugh. Besides, isn't laughter is the best medicine?

"The way you were with Remus today, Sirius...it made me proud."

"He's my best friend. My brother. I missed him." I kissed Sirius, then pulled back and smiled into my tea cup.

"You are a bag full of surprises, I swear."

"Speaking of surprises, I have one for you," Sirius said with a huge grin. I had not seen him look like this before. I wondered what this surprise was. "It may come as a shock to you, but I love you. And I think it's necessary that I - "

"Did you get me a present?" I asked, eager to know what it was.

"Depends on how you take it."

"So tell me what it is, Black! Don't keep me waiting!"

"Marry me," he said. I was stunned.

"What?"

"Isabel, come on. We've been together for over a year now. I know we won't be able to get married until my name is clear, but even being engaged to you will be enough until then. I love you, and I want to spend every single breath that I have left with you. You are - "

"I will," I replied. "I will marry you."

"What?"

"I said I will. I will marry you. I'll go wherever you will go." He smiled, as did I. He put his arm around me and kissed me softly. This was the happiest that I had ever been in my life. I had never looked forward to the future as much as I did today. I couldn't wait for June 18, because I would then be able to say I was engaged, and soon to be married to Sirius Black.

* * *

**A/N: So, what did you think? Are you excited about the engagement? Just how did you feel about the way Sirius and Remus just acted so normally?**

**REVIEW, GUYS! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**

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**The next chapter will be huge, as promised. The more reviews, the less time it'll take me to upload next chapter! And here is your sneak peek...**

**Next Chapter: The Department of Mysteries  
**"Come on, you can do better than that!" Sirius yelled. I turned around to see Sirius with a grin on his face. I then turned to see Bellatrix, who had her wand at the ready. I tried to reach for my wand, but it was on the ground. I quickly picked my wand up and then looked back at Sirius and Bellatrix.


	78. The Department of Mysteries

**Thanks to: ZabuzasGirl, tonealeanncurtis, HPFan, LaFlorine, TheDiva121, IcyRose66, Mel, Guest, & humply plooper (how amusing...) for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel and Sirius' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Boy by Lights On  
**__**Cosmic Love by Florence + The Machine  
**__**A Drop In The Ocean by Ron Pope**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Sirius and I sat in the dining room, cups of tea in our hands. I hadn't stopped smiling since last night, and neither had he. We were alone this morning, which made it even better. Molly was out at Diagon Alley, collecting ingredients for tonights dinner. Arthur was at work, as was Bill. And we had been lucky to not have any Order members turn up, wanting things. Sirius put his arm around me and my head fell on his shoulder.

"This is perfect," I said softly. I closed my eyes and listened to Sirius' breathing. I could sit here forever and not move. It felt right to be sitting here.

"You are perfect."

"Just think, I'll be able to start planning a wedding, and then I'll be Isabel Black."

"Isabel Black has a nice ring to it. A lot nicer than Isabel Snape," Sirius said, teasing me.

"Don't be mean!"

"You know, it'll be tough on both of us. You'll be watched even closer than you are now if someone becomes suspicious." My hand reached up to touch Sirius' cheek.

"I know," I told him, nodding. "It will be tough on me, but with the bad days come the good days. I'm ready for this and I'm ready to be here for you every single day. Now, I'm going to have a nap as I didn't sleep last night because of how excited I am." I kissed Sirius and smiled. "I'll be up later." I walked out of the kitchen, a beaming smile still on my face. I was so happy; the happiest I had ever been in my whole life.

* * *

"ISABEL!" Sirius shouted. "ISABEL, GET UP NOW!" I groaned and moved around in the bed for a couple of moments. Was I dreaming or was I actually being called down? I put my hand on my head and groaned again. Waking up never treated me kindly.

"ISABEL! GET UP NOW! QUICK!" I shot up from the bed and sprinted down the stairs, my wand in my hand. Sirius sounded frantic. Something was so very wrong. I had never heard that tone come from Sirius. Something bad was happening, otherwise he wouldn't be acting like this. I ran into the kitchen and looked at Sirius. He was pale - it was as if he was a ghost.

"We have to get to the Ministry immediately. We got a distress call from Kingsley," Sirius said.

"Who's at the Ministry?" I asked, taking the jacket off that I had over my dress and slipping my wand into the small, tight pocket I had for it.

"We believe the Death Eaters are there. They're going after the prophecy. It gets worse, too."

"How can it possibly get any worse?" I stopped and turned to Sirius. There could be nothing worse that I could think of. The Death Eaters are at the Ministry, they're going for the Prophecy and if they get the Prophecy, then we're in trouble. You-Know-Who would be in the box seat, then. What could possibly be even worse than that?

"Harry's there." Sirius grabbed my hand and we ran out of the house.

* * *

We arrived in the Atrium at the Ministry of Magic. I had never been here before. It was an intimidating place to be, especially because we knew that soon enough, there'd be Death Eaters waiting for us. This was the real thing now. Ever since You-Know-Who had returned I was frightened that one day I would have to go to battle against the Death Eaters. Here was the moment.

"This way," Kingsley said, pointing in one direction with his wand. Everyone stopped at the same time, and Kingsley looked around at us as if we were insane. But he knew. He knew that we had to say something to each other. This was a real battle we were about to face. We knew that one of us may not come out of this battle alive. It wasn't something we wanted to think about, but it was a truth we had to face. I turned to Sirius, and he turned to face me. He half smiled and brushed my cheek with his hand.

"You look exhausted. Did that little nap that you had not do you any good? You look as if you're going to fall flat on your face." I laughed a little bit. Sirius never failed to put a smile on my face. Never.

"We better hurry up, Shacklebolt is getting impatient," I said quietly. In the corner of my eye I saw Remus watching us. I didn't know what else I could do with him. I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen.

"Yeah, you're right. But, we can't go before I get the chance to do this." Sirius smiled, wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. He leaned forward and kissed my lips softly. This was perfect. He was perfect. Together, we were perfect. I loved Sirius Black. I was in love with Sirius Black. He pulled back and kissed my head.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too. And whatever happens, I will always love you," I replied.

"No, don't do that. We are not saying goodbye's. We are coming out of this. We are going to come out of this alive and well. Not even Death Eaters can break us apart. They're too dim." I nodded and giggled at Sirius' words. I believed him. We were going to walk out of this battle unharmed. Any other way was impossible.

"You two," Mad-Eye spat, "are you two finished with your cosy little moment? We have to go!" I nodded as Sirius' hand slipped away from mine. He winked at me and I smiled.

* * *

We burst through the door to arrive in a dark room within the Department of Mysteries to see that all hell had broken loose. I looked around to see Harry, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Hermione and Ron. They were in trouble. Seconds later, there was a Death Eater in pursuit of me. I took my wand out as the Death Eater shot a spell at me. I began to block the spells that the Death Eater shot at me. The Death Eater had a lapse of concentration, and I took full advantage. I flicked my wand aggressively at the Death Eater, and the Death Eater passed out and began flying backwards. I heard cackling coming from one of the Death Eaters, and I presumed it was Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Isabel! My dear Isabel!" I heard someone shout. I turned to see Lucius Malfoy, standing next to an empty archway, smirking at me. "Isabel, my darling, you do miss me, don't you?" He sounded so evil. Sirius obviously had enough of Lucius and blasted him out of his way.

I turned around and another Death Eater was there to challenge me. I made quick work of this one. I pointed my wand at the Death Eater and smirked.

"Petrificus Totalus" I said quickly. The Death Eater froze and fell backwards. I glanced over to my left to see Tonks, gravely injured. She looked up at me and shook her head. I wanted to go over there. I wanted to help my best friend, but she wouldn't let me. I heard a noise from behind me, so I quickly turned around and blasted the Death Eater that was trying to curse me away.

"Retreat!" I heard someone shout. I swore it was Lucius, but I couldn't make it out. I returned to battle, noticing that another Death Eater was coming towards me.

"All they give me is a little girl..." he began to say. I rolled my eyes and flicked my wand. The Death Eater went flying backwards and disappeared in mid air. Everything seemed like a massive blur. I had been in the Order for a while now, but I had never experienced anything like this. Curses were flying everywhere, the cackles of Bellatrix Lestrange filled the room. I could see someone lying on the ground metres away from me. I ran over to the person to see Tonks lying there, barely conscious.

"Tonks!" I gasped. She let out a small groan, but didn't really respond to me.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Sirius yelled. I turned around to see Sirius with a grin on his face. I then turned to see Bellatrix, who had her wand at the ready. I tried to reach for my wand, but it was on the ground. I quickly picked my wand up and then looked back at Sirius and Bellatrix. Sirius still had a grin on his face. Bellatrix quickly cast a curse at Sirius. The world suddenly seemed as if it stopped. My breathing had stopped, as I had hoped that no harm had come to Sirius. The grin on Sirius' face faded slightly as the body of the man I loved fell back into the empty archway behind him.

"NO!" I screamed. His body turned grey for a second, and then he was gone. No.

"SIRIUS!" I shouted. I looked over at Bellatrix, who was laughing. She smirked at Harry and I and then left the room. I felt someone wrap their arms around me. I turned to see Neville Longbottom holding me tightly.

"SIRIUS!" I screamed again. I tried to release myself from Neville's grip, but I was too weak. Neville held me closely and I began to cry.

"There's nothing you can do Harry – " I heard Remus say.

"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!" Harry interrupted. His hopeful tone made me feel even worse.

" – it's too late," Remus told Harry.

"We can still reach him – " Harry shouted.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry…nothing…he's gone." Harry suddenly broke out of the hold Remus had on him and ran after Bellatrix. I felt helpless. Tears began to stream out of my eyes. Remus ran over to me and put his arms around me, taking over from Neville.

"Isabel..." Remus held me tightly as I cried. I screamed out. I just needed to scream. The man I loved. The man I adored. The man I was going to marry...he was dead. I rested my head on Remus' chest and cried. Remus stroked the back of my head as I closed my eyes. I wanted this to go away. This pain was all too much for me to bare. I felt my body go limp, the back of my head hit something solid and everything turned into a blur.

* * *

I opened my eyes slowly to see that I was in the Hogwarts hospital wing. Why was I here? I hadn't been ill, I didn't think. And I was sacked, I shouldn't be here. It was light, so it was obviously some time during the day. I expected Umbridge to walk in the room any second and tell me to get out of her school. I looked to my right to see Remus, Father, Fred, George, Molly, Tonks and Arthur standing there. What were they doing here? Why was everyone so silent?

"Isabel!" Father said. I looked at him, quizzically. Why wouldn't I be alright? "You're alright, now. Your safe, Isabel." Where was Sirius? Shouldn't he be with me? He's probably back at Grimmauld Place. He couldn't risk his safety to be by my hospital bed.

"Where's Sirius, Remus?" I asked.

"Isabel...do you remember anything?" Arthur asked me. Why wouldn't he answer my question?

"I remember I was at Grimmauld Place with Sirius, and we were called on an Order mission. It's blank after that. Will one of you tell me where Sirius is?" I said. I looked around at the blank faces of everyone else. "Please tell me he's alright. Where is he?" Why wouldn't anyone tell me where he is?

"Isabel," Remus said, putting his hand on mine. "Sirius is...he's...he's dead." I froze. No. No, no, no. He wasn't dead. He was at home, waiting for me to come home. I began to cry as my head started to process this.

"W-w-who killed him?" I asked.

"You don't need to know that now, Isabel," Molly said.

"Who killed him?"

"Bellatrix. Bellatrix Lestrange," Tonks said. That was it. I was going to go and kill her. She killed my Sirius, now I wanted her dead. I wanted to rip her to pieces. I pulled my sheet off me and tried to get up, but Remus took my shoulders and began to push me back down onto the bed. I struggled against him, hitting his chest, screaming and crying.

"REMUS, LET ME GO OF ME. REMUS, LET-GO-OF-ME, LET GO OF ME! REMUS!" I cried. "Please, Remus."

"You need to calm down, Isabel!" Remus exclaimed. I stopped struggling and fighting Remus. It wasn't going to do anything. It wasn't going to bring Sirius back. Nothing was going to bring him back. He had died. I was never going to see him again. It hardly seemed fair in my mind that someone like him would have to die, yet someone like Bellatrix Lestrange was allowed to continue living and breathing. Tonks sighed and sat down next to me. She wiped the tears that had fallen down my cheeks.

"It's going to be okay. I'll be here with you." Tonks took my hand and squeezed it. "I promise." I shook my head as tears continued to fall.

"It's not going to be okay, Tonks. None of this is going to be okay! He's dead! He's gone because they killed him!"

"Isabel, listen to me. You need to calm down," Tonks said. "Calm down!"

"He's dead!" I cried. I put my head on Tonks' shoulder and attempted to catch my breath. My whole body shook because of how much I had been crying. I wiped a tear with my quivering hand and closed my eyes.

He's dead. He's not coming back. And nothing is going to change that.

* * *

Fleur walked into the room and sat by my bedside. I didn't even look at her. My own sister. I didn't even care that my own sister was there. I could hear her breath, and that was it. She didn't say anything. It was just silent. I stared up at the ceiling, my eyes tired. I had stopped crying for the first time in hours, now I was just numb. I didn't want to feel a thing.

"Isabel," Fleur breathed out. I turned my head to face her. "I'm sorry."

"Apologies don't count right now, do they? He's gone."

"Isabel, I need to tell you something." Fleur handed me a piece of parchment. "Eet ees from Mother. I only came to give eet to you, I will be leaving now." Fleur kissed my cheek then left me along again. Being along was the opposite of what I wanted, but I was to weak to say anything. I opened the parchment and began reading the words written on it.

_My dearest daughter,_

_I am sorry for the grief I have caused you.  
__As I write this, I am packing my suitcase to return to France.  
__Fleur begged me not go to but I can no longer accept charity off my own daughters.  
__France is my home, not here.  
__However, it is Fleur's home, as she has William, and it is your home as you have Sirius._

_After seeing the way you and Sirius are around each other I have decided to return to Louis.  
__I know what he did to me was wrong,  
__But I love him.  
__And maybe Louis and I can end up happy again. Maybe he will change._

_I wish you and Sirius all the luck in the world, and hope one day you are married, and one day you give me extremely beautiful grandchildren._

_Je t'aime,_

_All my love,_

_Mama_

I stared at the letter before bursting into tears. It was painful.

All I wanted was for Sirius to hold me and tell me it would be okay.

Without him, I felt dead inside.

* * *

**A/N: I don't have much to say, really. We all knew that this event was going to happen. I had been asked for months on end if he will die or not. Here it is. ****Some of you may be happy about this (Remus/Isabel shippers) and some will be distraught. Sorry to those who I've disappointed. So, tell me how you feel, guys. Don't hold back on it.**

**I want you guys to note something here, Isabel & Sirius' theme is an instrumental version of Cosmic Love by Florence + The Machine, and the last song I ever used to help me write the last Sirius and Isabel scene was the full version of Cosmic Love by Florence. **

**Tumblr:  
****bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter:**

I sat on my bed. My hand went stray to my right and felt the sheets. They were empty. There was no warmth in this room anymore, or in this house. I looked around at my room. Everything seemed blank. I wanted to throw things, break things. I wanted something else other than me to hurt. Why did I deserve all the pain? I brought my knees up to my chest and rocked myself back and forwards as tears started falling from my eyes. He told me that we were both coming out of this alive. He told me that he was going to protect me forever. I closed my eyes and remembered his words from last night. _'I love you, and I want to spend every single breath that I have left with you.' _It was almost like a lie. Maybe, we knew this was going to happen. I didn't know what to think anymore. I didn't know how to feel, either. My Sirius was dead. There was a knock at my door, and Remus walked in, Molly and Andromeda behind him.


	79. Au clair de la lune

**Thanks to: LaFlorine, IcyRose66, YUNeLenna, ZabuzasGirl, Mel, toneale'anncurtis, HPFan & Andy4Masterchef for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Fred's Theme [New Theme! See Tumblr]  
**__**I Go to Sleep by Sia  
**__**Last Goodbye by Jeff Buckley**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

We arrived back at Grimmauld Place after what seemed like a nightmare. Only it was real. It felt horrific to be walking back into this house, knowing Sirius wouldn't be walking back in here with me. I stared up at the walls. I stared at the ceiling. I stared at the floor. I stared at everything except the other people in the room with me. Andromeda, Tonks, Molly, Arthur, Fleur, Bill and Remus stood there, watching my every move. It was like they thought at any moment I could collapse.

"Would you like me to come to your room with you?" Fleur asked. I didn't even reply. I walked up the stairs and didn't even look back at them. I didn't acknowledge their existence. I opened the wooden door once I reached the stairs and stepped into my room. It didn't feel the same. Every possession of ours was still in its exact spot as it was yesterday. I walked over to the chair in the corner of the room and picked up one of Sirius' dress robes that sat nearly on it. I picked it up and took in its scent. I closed my eyes. It was exactly how he smelt.

I sat on my bed. My hand went stray to my right and felt the sheets. They were empty. There was no warmth in this room anymore, or in this house. I looked around at my room. Everything seemed blank. I wanted to throw things, break things. I wanted something else other than me to hurt. Why did I deserve all the pain? I brought my knees up to my chest and rocked myself back and forwards as tears started falling from my eyes. He told me that we were both coming out of this alive. He told me that he was going to protect me forever. I closed my eyes and remembered his words from last night. _'I love you, and I want to spend every single breath that I have left with you.' _It was almost like a lie. Maybe, we knew this was going to happen. I didn't know what to think anymore. I didn't know how to feel, either. Sirius was dead. There was a knock at my door, and Remus walked in, Molly and Andromeda behind him.

"Isabel..." Remus said softly. I looked up and they all stared at my tear streaked face.

"Isabel, we are so sorry," Andromeda told me. Words did nothing now. They were only words. They weren't going to bring him back.

"He's not coming back," I said softly. "Words aren't going to do anything, are they?"

"Darling, we are going to be here for you every step of the way," Molly said, walking over and putting an arm on my back. I quickly moved away from Molly and held my knees even closer to my chest.

"I don't want any of you here," I whispered.

"Isabel - " Remus began to say before I cut him off.

"Please, just go." Remus was hurt by my words. I was his best friend and he was mine, but I didn't want him around. He nodded his head, turned away and walked out of the room without another word. I knew I shouldn't be harsh towards him, but that was just the way it had to be. Instead, I looked right at Molly.

"When Fred arrives, can you send him up?" I asked her. Molly nodded.

"Of course, sweetheart," Molly replied. "Remember, anything you need, we are here." I turned away from them and curled up in a ball on the bed, bringing the covers up so they were practically covering my head. I wanted to shut myself out from them...from the world. I heard them sigh as they both left the room.

* * *

Time passed. I didn't know what time it was anymore. Maybe it wasn't even still the same day. The sound of the clock ticking was deafening. All I wanted to hear were Sirius' snores coming from beside me. I closed my eyes and felt the sheets next to me. It felt like it was only less than a minute ago that he was still here with me. There was a knock at my door. I turned to see Fred opening the door slowly before walking in. The expression on his face was full of sympathy. I reached out for his hand and he took mine. He sat down on the bed next to me, immediately beginning to comfort me. I buried my face in his chest and began to cry. Fred started to stroke my hair as tears fell onto his jacket.

"Why did it have to be him?" I cried onto his chest.

"Sssh...everything's going to be alright," Fred whispered into my ear. I shook my head and looked up at Fred.

"It won't. It won't be alright. Sirius didn't deserve to die! No one except those Death Eaters deserve to die." My whole body was shaking now from crying. My make up had run down my face and my hair was a mess. I felt physically sick. Fred held me tightly and tried to stop me from shaking, but it wasn't going to work. I was a complete mess. My head began to replay the moment. The moment I screamed his name. The moment the curse from Bellatrix Lestrange hit him, and he fell back into the veil. I flinched and put my head back onto Fred's chest.

"He was supposed to stay here and protect me. We were supposed to be happy," I whimpered. "He promised me." I hated this. This feeling of emptiness inside my chest. I had never felt a more incredible pain in my life. Maybe hanging myself would be less painful than this. This was pure torture. "Fred, I need to tell you something," I whispered.

"Yes?"

"Sirius proposed to me last night."

"What?"

"Last night. Sirius. He proposed. I said yes. We were engaged." Fred's eyes widened and he sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Isabel," he said softly.

"What's done is done, Fred, I cannot go and just change everything. He's dead." Fred held me tighter than he did before. It was scary how all of this felt so real. It's like I just woke up from a nightmare. Only, I wished it was a nightmare. They're not real like this one is.

"You know what, why don't I go get Remus."

"No, please, don't."

"He's your best friend..."

"He reminds me of Sirius."

"Isabel, you cannot shut him out of your life forever. Yes, Sirius is dead, but Remus will help you. He's going through the same thing as you. Remus and Sirius were as close as brothers. He will be hurt, just as much as you, and you will be able to confide in each other. He'll help you, Isabel. Let me go get him - "

"NO!" I screamed at Fred. He stared at me in surprise. Who was I? Why was I yelling at Fred? What had Fred done that deserved screaming? I backed away from Fred to the corner of my bed and put my head in my hands. I did not want to be this person. "I'm sorry," I whispered, starting to shake. "I'm so sorry. Who am I, Fred? Where have I gone? Have I died along with Sirius?" Fred reached out to me slowly and wiped my tears off my cheeks, along with the make up that had smudged on my face.

"A part of you died along with Sirius, Isabel. It is only natural for it to. The chapter of your life with Sirius has closed, but it does not mean your life is over, Isabel. We are all here for you, and I understand if you do not want to see Remus. I won't force you." Fred's words were warm. Comforting. They were the only words that meant anything to me today. "Anyway...you need to sleep. You've had an awful day. Some rest will do you good," Fred told me. He stood up from the bed and began walking away, but I reached over for his arm as fast as I could. Fred turned around and looked down at my hand. My eyes were desperate. I didn't want to be here alone.

"Fred, don't leave me here on my own. Please." Fred pursed his lips and stared back at me. "I can't be here on my own, Fred. I beg of you." Fred nodded and sat back down on the bed. He put his arms around me and my head rested on his arm. I closed my eyes and tried to get my mind off Sirius. It was seemingly impossible. I sniffed and tried to fight back tears, but it was no use. I couldn't hold them back. I clenched my teeth, then burst into tears.

"Isabel, please don't cry," Fred whispered.

"I can't," I cried. He tilted my chin up to face him. "You can. Think of something. Of anything. What makes you most calm? What makes you most happy?" I sighed and closed my eyes. I tried to remember a time away from all of this. A time when I didn't know Hogwarts, my Father, the Order, You-Know-Who, the Weasley's, Remus or Sirius. A time where things were more simple than they are today. My mind took me back to a field I used to sit in as a little girl with Fleur. We'd collect flowers and sit in the crisp, grassy field for hours on end, singing a French folk song for hours on end.

"_Au clair de la lune  
__Mon ami Pierrot  
__Prête-moi ta plume  
__Pour écrire un mot  
__Ma chandelle est morte  
__Je n'ai plus de feu  
__Ouvre-moi ta porte  
__Pour l'amour de Dieu."_

"_Isabel, wait! Attendez!" Fleur ran after me as fast as she could, her floral dress covered by the long grass._

"_You have to catch up with me! Se dépêcher!" I turned and smiled at Fleur, my black hair shadowing my face. I had always been jealous of Fleur's hair. I was ten, and Fleur was eight. Why was I jealous of an eight year old? Would she grow to be move loved than I was? Why was I acting so jealous? As we were running, I fell down. _

"_Isabel!" Fleur called. She ran over to me knelt by my side. "Are you hurt, ma sœur?"_

"_Just a scratched leg," I replied with a smile._

"_Isabel," Fleur said, sitting by my side. "Do you think I will ever grow to be as beautiful as you?" I laughed at my sister and gave her one of my flowers. _

"_You will be even more beautiful than I am. You will be the greatest beauty France has ever seen." Fleur smiled then passed me one of her flowers. I blinked._

_And then I opened my eyes. The sun wasshining in on my face, and a flower on the pillow next to me. A white rose. I held the rose up to my nose and took in it's beautiful scent. I couldn't have asked for a better start to the day. Beneath the rose was a piece of parchment. I picked it up and read the message on it. _

_**Sorry for stinking up the place.  
**__**Hope the rose makes up for it, and makes up for me being an idiot most of the time.  
**__**Sirius.**_

_I smiled and placed the parchment on my bedside table. I threw the blanket off me and stood up out of bed, stretching my arms and yawning. I took the rose off my pillow and held onto it tightly. I was thankful that there were no thorns on it. I opened the door, and screamed at who was behind it._

_Sirius shouted. "ISABEL, GET UP NOW!" I groaned and moved around in the bed for a couple of moments. Was I dreaming or was I actually being called down? I put my hand on my head and groaned again. Waking up never treated me kindly._

_"ISABEL! GET UP NOW! QUICK!" I shot up from the bed and sprinted down the stairs, my wand in my hand. Sirius sounded frantic. Something was so very wrong. I had never heard that tone come from Sirius. Something bad was happening, otherwise he wouldn't be acting like this. I ran into the kitchen and looked at Sirius. He was pale - it was as if he was a ghost._

_"We have to get to the Ministry immediately. We got a distress call from Kingsley," Sirius said._

_"Who's at the Ministry?" I asked, taking the jacket off that I had over my dress and slipping my wand into the small, tight pocket I had for it._

_"We believe the Death Eaters are there. They're going after the prophecy. It gets worse, too."_

_"How can it possibly get any worse?" I stopped and turned to Sirius. There could be nothing worse that I could think of. The Death Eaters are at the Ministry, they're going for the Prophecy and if they get the Prophecy, then we're in trouble. You-Know-Who would be in the box seat, then. What could possibly be even worse than that?_

_"Harry's there."_

_"Retreat!" I heard someone shout. I swore it was Lucius, but I couldn't make it out. I returned to battle, noticing that another Death Eater was coming towards me._

_"All they give me is a little girl..." he began to say. I rolled my eyes and flicked my wand. The Death Eater went flying backwards and disappeared in mid air. Everything seemed like a massive blur. I had been in the Order for a while now, but I had never experienced anything like this. Curses were flying everywhere, the cackles of Bellatrix Lestrange filled the room. I could see someone lying on the ground metres away from me. I ran over to the person to see Tonks lying there, barely conscious._

_"Tonks!" I gasped. She let out a small groan, but didn't really respond to me._

_"Come on, you can do better than that!" Sirius yelled. I turned around to see Sirius with a grin on his face. I then turned to see Bellatrix, who had her wand at the ready. I tried to reach for my wand, but it was on the ground. I quickly picked my wand up and then looked back at Sirius and Bellatrix. Sirius still had a grin on his face. Bellatrix quickly cast a curse at Sirius. The world suddenly seemed as if it stopped. My breathing had stopped, as I had hoped that no harm had come to Sirius. The grin on Sirius' face faded slightly as the body of the man I loved fell back into the empty archway behind him._

_"NO!" I screamed. His body turned grey for a second, and then he was gone. No._

"SIRIUS!"

"Isabel!" My eyes shot open and I looked right at Fred. I breathed in and out quickly. What was happening to me?

"You were having a nightmare..."

"No I wasn't," I replied. "I was reliving memories." I held onto Fred and snuggled into his side. I didn't want to feel alone. "I just need to go back to sleep. Do you mind if I sing to myself?"

"Not at all. Whatever makes you feel better."

"Au clair de la lune,  
On n'y voit qu'un peu.  
On chercha la plume,  
On chercha le feu.  
En cherchant d'la sorte,  
Je n'sais c'qu'on trouva  
Mais je sais qu'la porte  
Sur eux se ferma." I sung in a whisper to myself. Everything melted into darkness, and I was asleep.

**A/N: I decided not to make Fred joke around in this chapter because he realises that would do no good for her. ****So, how do you think she's dealing with it so far? How are you guys dealing with the death of Sirius? This chapter name and the song lyrics are from a french song by the same name, meaning 'by moonlight.'**

**Tumblr page [NEW THEME!] -  
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**Remember...REVIEWS GUYS!**

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"Isabel!" A voice said from in front of me. I glanced up to see Remus coming towards me. The living area was a wreck. I had ruined it.

"Isabel, stop...please..."

"No, I don't want to!"

"You need to!"

"Do you not feel anything anymore, Remus? This is real! This is happening!"

"Yes, Isabel, I feel something. My best friend died, of course I feel something! I am overwhelmed with grief, because it should have been me and not him!"

"Don't say that..."

"Who do I have? Sirius had you, Andromeda, Harry - he had family."

"Remus, please, stop it. You have me. Don't wish death upon yourself, please."


	80. This New Day

**Thanks to: melissa (times two), Tessa, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, TheDiva121, ZabuzasGirl and HPFan for your reviews. **

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**The River Has Run Wild by Mads Langer  
**__**A Message by Coldplay**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I woke up to feel someone lying in my arms. Sirius? Everything from yesterday had just been a nightmare. Thank goodness. I put my head on Sirius' chest and smiled. I snuggled up even more to his side, feeling safe and warm. I honestly could not believe it. Everything felt real. How did I come up with a nightmare like that? I had never had a worse nightmare in my life...but it was over now. I opened my eyes and sat up, stretching and smiling even more. I turned around to look at the person that was in the bed next to me. It wasn't Sirius.

Sirius was not there.

It was clear who he was by his hair. It was Fred. I closed my eyes and thought back to last night.

_"Fred, don't leave me here on my own. Please." Fred pursed his lips and stared back at me. "I can't be here on my own, Fred. I beg of you." Fred nodded and sat back down on the bed. He put his arms around me and my head rested on his arm. _

Yesterday was not a nightmare.

_"Come on, you can do better than that!" Sirius yelled. I turned around to see Sirius with a grin on his face. I then turned to see Bellatrix, who had her wand at the ready. I tried to reach for my wand, but it was on the ground. I quickly picked my wand up and then looked back at Sirius and Bellatrix. Sirius still had a grin on his face. Bellatrix quickly cast a curse at Sirius. The world suddenly seemed as if it stopped. My breathing had stopped, as I had hoped that no harm had come to Sirius. The grin on Sirius' face faded slightly as the body of the man I loved fell back into the empty archway behind him._

_"NO!" I screamed. His body turned grey for a second, and then he was gone. No._

I walked over to my chair and leant over it. I felt like vomiting. The moment that Sirius fell into the archway played over in my mind. I couldn't handle it. I burst into tears yet again and covered my ears. It was like Bellatrix's laugh was deafening me. It was all I could hear.

"Isabel?" I turned around to see Fred was awake. He got out of the bed and rushed over to me. He put his hands on my shoulders and leant over to see my face. "What is it?"

"He's still dead." Fred stared at me. He was unable to say anything. I didn't blame him. I didn't know what to say to myself. I didn't know what to think. I didn't know how to see things or interpret things anymore. How was I supposed to walk through life like this if I didn't know which direction I was going? "How is he still dead? Why is he still dead?"

"Isabel, I'll go get Andromeda...or Remus.."

"NO!" I screamed, grabbing Fred's arm. "You can't."

"Isabel," Fred whispered, brushing my hair out of my face. "Calm down. Please."

"Don't make them come in here," I cried, shaking my head and shivering. "She's his cousin...he was his best friend...I can't have them around me. Please." Fred sighed and pulled me into his arms, holding my tightly. "What's happening to me, Fred? This isn't me. Where did I go?"

"I won't let anything happen to you," he said softly. "I promise." I pushed Fred away at those words and stared at him.

"You can't make promises that you can't keep. You can't keep that promise! He made a promise that we'd make it through, that he'd marry me and we'd be happy. He broke that promise! I can't trust any promise that you make me!" I was angry at Sirius. He had left me here feeling all alone when he promised that he would never leave me. Would that mean that every promise someone made to me would not be real? I stared at Fred. I didn't know what to do. Why would I trust him? Why would I not? I was so confused.

"I'm not forcing you to trust it, but I want you to trust me."

"Why should I?"

"What reason have I given you not to trust me, Isabel?" He was right. He had kept his word. He had given me no reason not to trust him.

"I'm scared," I whispered.

"I know you are but we're all here for you. Now come with me and we'll go and see everyone else, and we'll eat. You need to eat something." I pursed my lips, then nodded. I followed Fred out of my room, down the stairs and into the kitchen. Little did I know when I walked into the kitchen that most of the Order would be waiting there.

* * *

They all stared at me. They had probably never seen me like this before...ever. I had not changed out of the clothes that I fought in, meaning they were dirty and smelly. My hair was a mess and my make up had run. This was embarrassing. Every single member from the Order except my Father was here. Molly walked over to my slowly and put her arm around my shoulders, then took one of my hands. She looked to Fred and nodded, and he simply sat down without a word. Molly brought me over to the table and sat me down, not letting go of my hand.

"I declare this Order of the Phoenix meeting open," Dumbledore said without any emotion in his voice. I scanned the room and realised everyone seemed as flat as Dumbledore. Some looked like they hadn't slept, just like me. Remus sat in the corner, but I couldn't bare to look at him.

"What are we supposed to say, Albus?" Minerva asked. "None of that should have happened. We should not have lost Sirius - "

"But we did, Minerva," Dumbledore interjected. "We lost Sirius. And as much as it hurts us all, we must move on."

"Easy for you to talk about moving on," I snapped.

"Isabel, I am truly sorry for your loss. But, I need you to listen to me. This will be a difficult time for us all, but I implore you all not to give up faith. These are the times when we must stick together as one. We are all going to grieve on our losses, and let it be known that Sirius is a tragic loss. For some in this room, there will not be a day that goes by when they do not think of him," Dumbledore paused and turned to look at me. I folded my arms and turned away from his gaze. "For now we must focus on what step to take next on Voldemort and the Death Eaters."

"Then what are we doing, Dumbledore?" Hestia Jones asked from down the other end of the table. Everyone was silent, even the Headmaster himself. No one wanted to say it, but we were all thinking it.

"It's simple," I said softly. Everyone turned to face me, surprised that I had spoken up. "We openly declare war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Hogwarts will need to be protected and each of us will have to watch our backs."

"We declare war," Remus repeated. I stared at Remus, and he stared back at me. My breathing became more rapid, and I couldn't stand a moment more.

"Excuse me," I said, rising from my chair.

"Isabel, you must stay until the meeting is finished. We'd like to have you here with us," Tonks said.

"You are kidding, right?" I turned to Minerva. "She is kidding?"

"I'm not. Isabel, please..."

"I apologise for not being in the mood to converse with you today, Nymphadora. Due to the fact that my fiancé is now dead, I am not feeling in the best mood," I snapped. Everyone froze and turned to look at me again.

"Fiancé?" Molly said, shocked.

"Sirius asked me to marry him the night before he was...it happened..."

Molly rose from her seat and wrapped her arms around me, holding me tightly. I rested my chin on her shoulder and began to cry.

"I am so sorry, my dear," Molly whispered to me. Soon enough, I was receiving condolences from everyone. Everyone except Remus. He stayed in his seat and stared at us. I looked at him from over Minerva's shoulder. He was emotionless. It hurt, seeing him the way he was. Once everyone had given me their condolences, I turned to Dumbledore.

"I shall declare open war on Voldemort and the Death Eaters today. Meeting dismissed."

* * *

I walked into the living room once everyone had gone. I was glad people had left me alone. I looked around at the room. It was dull. It was empty. Sirius wasn't there anymore, reading the newspaper, laughing at the false stories they were reporting of him. He wasn't there. I walked to the mantlepiece and picked up the photo of Sirius and I. He had his arms around my waist, and he was grinning. I was laughing and smiling. I wish I could go back to these times...the times when he was alive. The anger was beginning to build up inside of me. Why did it have to be Sirius? I screamed and threw the picture at the wall. I knocked all the pictures off the mantlepiece as tears began to fall down my face. I tipped over a table and tipped over three of the chairs. The floor was covered in glass and shattered objects. I kept throwing objects everywhere until I became exhausted and fell back onto the piano.

"Isabel!" A voice said from in front of me. I glanced up to see Remus coming towards me. Then, I had realised the damage that I had caused. The living room was a wreck. I had ruined it. I had ruined memories that I had made with Sirius. I looked around again, then started to cry hysterically. I had ruined it all. What would Sirius think of me? He'd be disappointed and angry! Disgusted! I had ruined our home that we had made together.

"Isabel," Remus said, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me onto the antique chair that he had stood back up. He took my face in his hands and made me face him. "Please, stop. I cannot bear to see you like this." I slapped his hands away from my face and pushed him back.

"No, I don't want to!" I cried.

"You need to, Isabel. You cannot go on like this! It isn't good for your health. We are all grieving, but you need to stay in good health for us! You need to eat the food that is being given to you! You need to accept everything that will make you feel better." I couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. Nothing was supposed to be about me anymore. Nothing.

"Do you not feel anything anymore, Remus?" I snapped at him. "This is real! This is happening! Sirius is dead!"

"Yes, Isabel, I feel something," Remus snapped back at me. "My best friend died, Isabel! My brother! The only person that I really knew inside and out! The only person that really knew who I was! Don't say that I am not feeling anything! I am overwhelmed with grief! I have never felt anything more painful in my life. And I am overwhelmed with guilt, because it should have been me and not him!" I froze and turned to Remus.

"Don't say that," I said softly.

"Who do I have? Sirius had you, Andromeda, Harry - he had family. He had people that he needed to take care of." Why was he saying this?

"Remus, stop," I whispered. I stood up, walked over to him and grabbed the collar of his shirt gently. "I need you right now, but it hurts. Being around you. You remind me so much of Sirius, sometimes it really is painful for me to think of you and him being best friends. But I need you. You cannot wish death upon yourself when I am the one who needs you. You have me."

"He told me if that anything were to ever happen to him that I have to look after you...and that's exactly what I will do." He put his arms around me and pulled me close to him. I put my head on his chest. Finally, I felt like I could rest.

"I'm sorry for pushing you away. You reminded me too much of Sirius and I couldn't bare it. I'm so sorry. We both need each other the most right now. Sirius wouldn't like us fighting with each other. We're in this together," I whispered to him, nodding.

"Whatever you need, Isabel, you just ask me." I nodded at him. I knew I could count on Remus for anything. He was really the only thing that was going to keep me sane through all of this. It wasn't going to do any good pushing him away. He was going through the same pain that I was going through. We were both going to have to hold on together. I took out my wand and held it in front of me. I breathed in, then waved it around. Moments later, everything started coming back together. There was no more shattered glass anymore, the picture frames were back together again, the furniture was in one piece again. Everything was repaired.

If only it'd take just that to repair me.

* * *

**A/N: A new dawn, a new day. Not much I really need to say about this chapter, is there? I myself am having a difficult time writing about Isabel's grief, because I don't really know what it's like to lose the person you love so much - but I'm guessing it would be a crushing and suffocating sort of feeling, like you don't know if you can really live without them. Isabel has been very dependent on Sirius for a while now...so that's the difficulty she will face.**

**What do you guys think is going to happen to Isabel?**

**Remember, reviews make me happy! Especially around this time in the story, I really need feedback, because this is probably the most difficult part I am facing when it comes to my writing! Feedback would be really good!**

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**Next Chapter -**

"Severus," Arthur said. Severus?

"Where is she?" It was Father. Father was here. Why was he here?

"The living room." Father walked into the living room and sighed at the sight of me. I could tell that he had seen my red eyes, and he could tell that I had not slept properly in a long while. He approached me very slowly, sat down next to me and put his arm around me, an unusual display of affection.

"You know that Black and I never got on, but I do know how much you cared for him. I'm sorry, Isabel."


	81. Broken

**Thanks to: ZabuzasGirl, LaFlorine, YUNeLenna, melissa (times 2), HPFan, victoria, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, rebecca, mel, TheDiva121, natalie, mr dinkels, winky & dobby and sexyandiknowit for your reviews.**

**_Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Please Don't Go by Barcelona  
Shelter by Birdy_**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I sat in the lounge room of Grimmauld Place. I sat by the window, staring at the world going past. It was almost funny. Everyone was continuing their everyday lives, yet mine had just completely stopped. Nothing mattered to me anymore. I was just numb at the moment. There was loud talking coming from the hallway that grabbed my attention. I tore my eyes away from the window and looked to the doorway, hoping to hear what was happening in there.

"Severus," Arthur said. Severus?

"Where is she?" It was Father. Father was here. Why was he here?

"The living room." Father walked into the living room and sighed at the sight of me. I could tell that he had seen my red eyes, and he could tell that I had not slept properly in a long while. He approached me very slowly, sat down next to me and put his arm around me, an unusual display of affection.

"You know that Black and I never got on, but I do know how much you cared for him. I'm sorry, Isabel." I looked up into his dark eyes. He was sincere about this. There was no sarcasm. There was something real in there.

"Why was it him?" I breathed out, resting my head on Father's shoulder.

"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and unfortunately, Bellatrix has quite the bloodlust for family members."

"I just feel empty. Like nothing is left inside of me - "

"Isabel, stop." I looked at my father and shook my head.

"No! I will not stop! Father, I just lost - "

"The man that you love? The man you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with? Isabel, you're twenty years old, nearly twenty-one. You're young. You will love again. But to do that you have to let go. He died. He's never coming back. The sooner that you accept this the easier it will be on you." I stared at my father. It had not even been a week since Sirius had died and he was already telling me to move on? I wasn't only offended...I was disgusted. "Isabel, say something. Please."

"Are you being serious right now?" I asked him, my eyes full of tears.

"I wouldn't say it if I was not."

"Why would you come here to say that to me?" I cried. "My life was supposed to be good. I was supposed to be happy. And you come here and tell me to move on after my future husband died not even a week ago! I can't believe this is happening right now." The tears fell down my cheeks as my head fell into my waiting hands.

"Future husband?" Father said softly with a tone of shock in his voice.

"Yes," I replied to him.

"Regardless - "

"Get out," I spat.

"Isabel, you were much to good for him anyway. I know that you cared very deeply for him but you deserved someone who was free and someone who could provide for you. Sirius Black was not either of those things." That was it. I snapped. I pushed my father off the couch, away from me. He landed on the floor, shocked.

"I SAID GET OUT! THIS IS MY HOUSE, NOW YOU WILL LEAVE!" The door opened quickly, and Remus stood there staring at Father, who was still on the ground. His attention then turned to me.

"Isabel!" Remus exclaimed. He came over and put his arm around me, but I pushed him away from me too.

"SIRIUS IS DEAD!" I screamed at my father. "YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE SOMEONE YOU LOVE BECAUSE YOU HAVE NEVER LOVED ANYONE! NOT EVEN MY MOTHER! I WAS CONCEIVED BECAUSE YOU WERE BOTH DRUNK! YOU WILL NEVER, EVER, KNOW WHAT THIS FEELING IS LIKE. HOW DARE YOU COME IN HERE AND TELL ME TO MOVE ON AFTER HIS DEATH. NOW GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Isabel," Father said, standing up.

"GET OUT!" I shot a warning curse in Father's direction, just missing him. Father nodded at me and moved away from me.

"Goodbye, Isabel." Father left the room without another word. I fell back onto the seat behind me and shook my head in disbelief. Remus walked over to me and sat down next to me. My head fell onto his shoulder. I was exhausted. I didn't even have the energy to do yell at my father.

"Isabel," Remus whispered, kissing me on head.

"He told me to get over it," I cried softly. "How can I get over it?"

"You can't. We can't. You never get over something like this. When James died, I was a mess for weeks. I didn't speak to anyone until the funeral. And everyday, even now, I still think about it. I think about the moment Minerva turned up on my doorstep telling me that James and Lily had been killed, Harry lived, and Sirius killed Peter...I'll never get over it. But it does get easier. Everyday it becomes that little bit easier. It doesn't hurt as much anymore."

"I just feel like I'm in this huge, dark hole, and nothing will pull me out of it."

"It's called grief," Remus said. "We all experience it at least once."

"I don't want to feel like this," I whispered, wiping my tears away.

"Of course you don't. Who would want to feel anything like you do now? Who would want to feel like we both do right now." I sighed and dug my head into Remus' head. He held me close to him, and this was where I felt most safe. It was the only thing that felt familiar to me at the moment. Everything else was strange and foreign. Everything else was not who I was and not who I wanted to be. "Do you want to be alone right now?" Remus asked.

"No," I said softly, shaking my head. "I need people around me right now."

"I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

I had found myself in Sirius' wine cabinet that he was so fond of. I grabbed a bottle, sat down, opened it and began drinking. I needed this for relief. To save me from myself. To drown all of my sorrows. I wanted to feel numb. Feeling nothing was better than feeling the hurt that was consuming me. I knew that I wasn't alone, but I felt alone. I felt like I was the last person in the world. No one was here to help me or tell me it was okay. I took a big gulp of the wine and winced. It was awful. But I couldn't stop drinking. I had to keep going. I coughed after swallowing a large amount of the wine. I told myself to keep going. Make myself numb. Stop the hurt.

"Isabel," a voice said. I looked up to see Fred. He was staring at me, wide eyed. "What are you doing?"

"I don't want to feel this anymore, Fred."

"I know you don't, but this," he said, taking the wine bottle away from me, "is not the way to go about it. This could seriously hurt you. Especially with the way you're going about drinking it." I sighed and tried to fight the tears off. I was losing the battle.

"I just feel so ashamed and scared. I keep thinking he's going to walk through that door, a smile on his face, thinking he's going to kiss me and tell me what he has planned for the evening. I know that it's never going to happen but I keep dreaming it and trying to convince myself that it's real." I put my hands on my knees and bent over, shaking my head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise to me."

"I just don't want you to see me like this. Can you please leave?" I asked tearfully. Fred nodded and left the room without another word, respecting my wishes.

* * *

I was all alone. None of the Weasley's were here, Remus was not here. No one was here to keep me in check. I sat on the couch, holding my tea close to me when there was a knock at the door. I got up slowly and walked to the door cautiously. I didn't want any unwanted visitors. I opened the door and stared a

"Headmaster," I said, shocked to see him at my doorstep. Behind him, Rufus Scrimgeour. If the rumours were true, he was to be the new Minister for Magic. With him, Cornelius Fudge. What was this? Why were all these powerful people standing on my doorstep? What did they want with me? "What can I do for the three of you?"

"We'd like to come in to discuss important matters," Fudge said to me.

"What do you mean important matters?" I asked. "If you wouldn't mind I'm a bit preoccupied grieving - "

"Isabel, my dear," Dumbledore said, taking my arm gently. "I know how hurt you are by the loss of him but this is really an important matter." I pursed my lips, then nodded, letting them in the door. I shut the door behind me, then turned around to see Fudge and Scrimgeour staring at the walls, and basically, the house itself.

"Sirius hated this house," I told them.

"So you and Black were close?" Fudge asked.

"If you class close as engaged to be married on the day of his death, then yes."

"But how could you fall in love with a crim - " I whipped my wand out without no hesitation and pointed it at him.

"The first rule, _Cornelius_, is that you do not speak about my dead fiancé like that. He was never a criminal and if you ever talk about him again then I will not be afraid to use this wand on you. Are we clear?" Fudge stared at the wand, then at me, then back at the wand, before nodding. He clearly feared me. Coward. I lowered my wand and led the three men into the study. Sirius' study. I had not been in here since his...passing. I froze, staring at the glass of whiskey on the table...the book that he had been writing in...

"We can go to another room," Dumbledore whispered.

"No," I replied. "It's like he's here right now. Come and sit." We all sat in each of the four chairs. Me on one side; Dumbledore, Fudge and Scrimgeour on the other. "What are you here for?" Dumbledore took out a piece of parchment and held it in the air until it floated on its own.

"The Last Will and Testimony of Sirius Orion Black III..."

"No," I said as soon as I heard them say it. "I'm not ready for this." I went to get up, but Scrimgeour grabbed my arm.

"Miss. Snape, you don't have a choice."

"I do have a choice whether I have to - "

"Isabel, I know you're hurting but you need to sit down and listen to us all. Please," Dumbledore pleaded with me. I pursed my lips and sat down. I couldn't escape this. It was best to get it over and done with now.

"Now, Sirius left two items to you. First, which is our main problem, is this house, Twelve Grimmauld Place. You and Harry Potter have shared ownership," Scrimgeour said to me.

"And how is this a problem? Harry and I - "

"There is no problem with Harry and you sharing the house," Dumbledore interrupted. "However, this house is different. It belongs to the Black Family. And neither you or Harry are in the direct descendant line for the House of Black. When the owner dies, it it passed down to the next male member of the family, or if all the direct males of the family are dead, we believe it may be passed onto the next in line of the Black family," Dumbledore said. What were they even saying? That this house, though it rightfully belongs to Harry and I, that we were not able to keep it?

"Who is the next in line in the Black family?" I asked the three men sitting opposite me.

"Bellatrix Lestrange." My eyes widened. She killed Sirius. She might turn up here. "Which means you need to get out of here as soon as you can," Dumbledore said.

"No," I replied. "When she comes I want to be ready for her."

"Isabel you will not kill her."

"I assure you, I'm that angry. I can. She killed Sirius and now she deserves to die."

"Her blood will not be on your hands," Dumbledore said sternly. "I won't allow you to become a murderer, even if it is Bellatrix." I went silent, contemplating Dumbledore's words. I was glad that he thought that much of me, but I was still so upset. I still wanted my revenge. Bellatrix would get what's coming to her, I would make sure of it. For now, though, I would remain quiet on the matter.

"What is the other item?" I asked quietly. Dumbledore picked up a small, black box. He passed it to me, and I held it in my hands, staring at it, wondering what it could be. I opened it slowly to see a ring, covered in diamonds. I couldn't tare my eyes away from it, even though I didn't want to look at it. I knew what it was. I didn't want to accept it.

"The last item he left to you was the ring that he was going to give to you on your wedding day." A tear fell from my eye as I took in the bright, sparkling ring. I could feel the stares come from Dumbledore, Fudge and Scrimgeour...they were waiting. Waiting for something to happen. Waiting for me to lose it or yell at them. I wasn't going to. I was going to keep a level head.

"Is there any requests you would like to make?" Scrimgeour asked me in a soft tone. I liked him better than Fudge already. He was asking me what I wanted...what I felt about this whole situation.

"I want Sirius to be vindicated, publicly. In the _Daily Prophet _tomorrow. He was innocent this whole time and was pure at the time of his death. The truth deserves to come out about who he was," I told them, mainly focusing on Fudge. He was embarrassed about all of this. He had spent so much time as Minister going after and blaming Sirius. He was the one that should be making the public apology. Not Dumbledore, not Scrimgeour...Fudge.

"Who exactly was Sirius, anyway, Miss. Snape? You seem to be the only one that knew the true him," Fudge said. He was being an arse about this. How dare he say that about Sirius.

"No, I wasn't," I snapped back to him. "And he was one of the most caring and warm human beings I've ever met. Now, you can leave." Fudge simply nodded, rose from his seat and left the house as quick as he could. Scrimgeour sighed as he watched Fudge leave. He held out his hand to me and I took it cautiously.

"I apologise. I shall make sure that request is fulfilled. I'm sorry for your loss," he told me, shaking my hand before leaving. Dumbledore patted my shoulder before following Scrimgeour. I was alone again. Alone in this dark house, that housed all my memories of Sirius.

* * *

**A/N: She's only getting worse, isn't she?**

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**Next Chapter -**

I began to walk down the stairs to the kitchen when I heard people talking. I was curious to hear what they were saying, so I sat down on the step I was on and rested my chin on my hand.

"Fred, she is very fragile at the moment. You can understand why I am worried," a woman said sternly. I realised it was Molly. She was obviously talking to Fred, and she was obviously talking about me. Who else would be fragile at the moment?

"I know she's fragile. I'm not a stupid git, Mum. I'm just helping her get through this," Fred replied. I smiled at Fred's words. He wasn't a git at all. Quite the opposite.

"Fred, I know you are trying to help her, I am only saying that if you have any ulterior motives - "

"Don't be ridiculous, Mum. I could never and would never hurt her. Especially after what she's been through. I care too much."


	82. Shutting It Out

**Thanks to: anon, Guest, Guest, TheDiva121, xXallegedangelXx, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, melissa, HPFan, Nanettezz, leafstone and Florine for your reviews.**

**_Songs for this chapter:  
_****_Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
_****_Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Beauty of the Dark by Mads Langer  
_****_Are We There Yet by Ingrid Michaelson  
_****_Cold by Aqualung & Lucy Schwartz  
_****_Wanna Be Sure by Aidan Hawken_**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Another day that I had to endure was upon me. I wasn't interested in living anymore. It was just getting over each day. I was sure that the people around me didn't get it, but I got it, and that was all that mattered to me. Sure, it may be selfish, but it was what was best for everyone.

"Who would want to be around a moping mess like me anyway?" I whispered to myself.

"I sure would," I heard a voice say. My head snapped up, and there was Andromeda. "Hi honey." She sat down next to me and looked out the window. "Isn't if funny?"

"What's funny?" I replied softly.

"How the whole world keeps moving when yours just stops?" I stared at her. Her eyes told the same story as mine. They were sad...anxious...waiting. "He was the only real family member from the Black line that I had left. He was the only one that shared the same values as me. But you know one thing that I am really happy about?" How could she be happy about anything right now. I wasn't happy. Nothing in this world would make me happy.

"What could possibly make you happy, Andromeda?"

"That he was happy when he died. He wasn't alone. He had someone by his side that he loved deeply, and he had Harry. What more could Sirius have asked for at the time?"

"I miss him so much, Andie," I whispered, staring right ahead of me. "I miss in the mornings when he'd tell me how beautiful I was. I miss the nights where he would hold me close to him when I was cold. I just can't even handle anything without him." I rested my head on her shoulder. It felt like absolutely everything was weighing me down and I was going to buckle under its pressure. I just wanted to run away and hide. I wasn't confident in anything anymore.

"I miss him too," Andie replied. "Now, there's something important I need to speak to you about. Dumbledore told me that you will be needing somewhere to stay because of Bellatrix. I am more than happy to let you stay with me, but I have talked to Molly and she has agreed to let you stay at her home until I set up a proper bedroom for you. Tonks would love you to stay with us, too."

"Why can't I just stay here until you are finished making the bedroom?"

"Because Bellatrix may show up and I do not want her anywhere near you. She'll kill you without even thinking, Isabel." I wasn't going to fight Andromeda. Sure, if I stayed I would be able to confront Bellatrix, but then I'd run the risk of getting killed.

"Fine," I sighed. "I'll come." Andromeda smiled and put her arm around me again.

"We'll get through all of this together. We both lost someone we love very much. We can get through this." I nodded, then dug my head into Andie's shoulder. She was at least some source of comfort in this dark time for me. I imagined Andie was feeling the same way. She had lost the only family member, apart from Tonks and Ted, that she had. Like she said, we could get through this together. Maybe moving in with her, Tonks and Ted wasn't such a bad thing after all.

* * *

It was time to pack up my things. All my possessions, all my memories. They would be erased from this house forever. The only place Sirius would exist in was my photographs and my memories of him. I carefully placed each book, picture frame...each item that had some value to me before his death. Now, all my memories were being placed carefully in my trunk. I was preparing to leave my old life behind. I walked over to the bed and placed my hand on the dark, ebony stained wood. I closed my eyes and remembered the mornings which he would be by my side, smiling as I woke up. I remembered the white rose he left me one morning, with the most gorgeous scent. I remember his touch during our most private nights together. I sighed and turned away from it. I couldn't bare thinking about it anymore. My breathing became erratic and faster. It was like I was suffocating. I needed to get out of this room. I ran out and slammed the door behind me. Everything was reminding me of him. I just couldn't handle it.

I walked away quietly from the room, towards the stairs. I knew people were downstairs, and I didn't want them to see me in the state that I was in. I sat down on the top stair and rested my hand on my chin, closing my eyes to calm myself down, however, I was stopped when I heard two people speaking downstairs. It sounded like it was becoming very intense, but I could not hear it very clearly. I moved down a few more steps as quietly as I could so I could hear everything that was happening.

"Fred, she is very fragile at the moment. You can understand why I am worried," a woman said sternly. I realised it was Molly. She was obviously talking to Fred, and she was obviously talking about me. Who else would be fragile at the moment? I wondered why they would be talking about me - her and Fred. Sure, I had been spending a lot of time with Fred since...it...had happened, but he was comforting me. I needed him.

"I know she's fragile. I'm not a stupid git, Mum. I'm just helping her get through this," Fred replied. I smiled at Fred's words. He spoke nothing but the truth. He was helping me get through this. He was the only one without any attachment to Sirius. I needed someone who wasn't involved emotionally in this to help me.

"Fred, I know you are trying to help her, I am only saying that if you have any ulterior motives - "

"Don't be ridiculous, Mum. I could never and would never hurt her. Especially after what she's been through. I care too much." I stopped listening at that point. I was not able to listen anymore. What if he had ulterior motives? What if Fred was just using me for his enjoyment? Like Lucius? _'Isabel, you've lost it. How could you compare Fred Weasley to Lucius Malfoy. You know that he is in this because he cares about you and he wants to help you through this - just as everyone else around here does. You cannot make excuses when you hear he cares too much to stay away from him. You need him, and you know it.' _My head was right. I was acting ridiculous. Fred was in this to help me, to hold me up just in case I stumbled. Of course he wouldn't have any ulterior motives.

Well, I hoped he didn't.

* * *

Everyone except Andromeda and Molly were gone. I was alone it my room, and none of them dared to disturb me. My last night at Grimmauld Place. I sighed and opened one of Sirius' bottles of wine. I knew these bottles would come in handy one day. I started to drink from it. I didn't care how much I drank. I was numb. I missed Sirius and he wasn't coming back. Drinking was my only distraction. I was thinking about how everything would have been if Sirius was alive.

He would have eventually been cleared from all his crimes that he didn't commit.

He would have married me one day, meeting me at the end of the aisle.

We would have had children, raised them in this house and sent them to Hogwarts as the start of the new House of Black, a house that bared no judgement or prejudice towards muggleborns or half-bloods. They wouldn't have been typical Slytherins. They would have been free to enter any house that they were destined to be in, and most of all, they would have been ours. They would have been mine and Sirius' to love and cherish.

I kept pouring the drink down my throat, hoping the amount of alcohol would eventually make me pass out so I didn't have to care anymore.

But was was I kidding? I did care. There was nothing in this world that would stop me from caring anymore. I was hurt and I didn't want to feel anything, but the harder I would fight to keep these feelings out the more difficult it was becoming. The more I didn't want to feel - the more I did feel. It was stupid, really.

I just didn't know what to think of myself anymore. Honestly, I was somewhat thankful that I would be moving away from here. At least I could clear my head and think straight again.

* * *

This was it. I stared up at the walls of Grimmauld Place. The dark, dull and lifeless walls. Some of my happiest memories were made in this house, and now I was not going to return. I sighed, realising that when I leave this house, that I would leave a huge part of me behind. It was like I was leaving Sirius behind. There was no turning back, either. I couldn't hold onto this house forever. I couldn't hold onto my memories of Sirius forever (no matter how much I wanted to). Fred, Bill and Ron all helped take my belongings downstairs and Molly sent two of them to Andromeda's house, and one of them to the Burrow using her wand.

I stared into our empty bedroom once more. A tear fell onto my cheek, so I shut my eyes, hoping that if I shut my eyes, I was also shutting the tears out.

_"I adore you, Sirius. No matter how many mistakes you make and no matter how much of a git you can be, that will always be the same. And I'm really glad I have you right now." I put my arms around him and breathed out slowly._

_"I'm glad I have you, too," Sirius replied softly, kissing my head again. I closed my eyes and became still. I was so tired that I was falling asleep already. "Are you not going to come back downstairs?" I shook my head and held onto Sirius tighter._

_"I'm tired. Can you stay here with me? I don't want you to leave," I whispered._

_"Of course I'll stay with you." I smiled as the room became silent. This was bliss for me. This is what made me feel at home. Suddenly, Sirius began singing softly into my ear. It was a beautiful song, a lullaby most likely, that I had never heard before. Sirius was quite the singer, actually. I tossed around to my other side, and Sirius instantly stopped. "Does my singing displease you?" Sirius asked. I shook my head, and my lips curled up as I opened my eyes._

_"Nothing you do could ever displease me," I replied._

_"Now that's a lie. I do plenty of things that displease you."_

_"And those are the flaws that make you human, but you wouldn't be the same without those flaws. You aren't perfect, and neither am I, but it's the things you do that annoy me that makes me cherish you even more." I closed my eyes again and sighed. "You never displease me."_

I opened my eyes and leaned against the doorframe. I felt like passing out. The memory came flooding back and I could do nothing to stop it, I could only let it in. I bit my lip, then began to sob. I shook my head at myself. I was ashamed that I couldn't keep it together. Not even for a minute. Sirius would be telling me to be brave for him, but I couldn't. What was wrong with me?

"Isabel," someone whispered, placing a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Fred, standing there. "Mum says it's time to be going."

"Oh," I said, wiping my tears away.

"Take your time - " Fred started.

"No, let's just go," I finished.

"Isabel, stop," Fred said to me, placing his hands on my shoulder. "You need to let yourself to properly grieve. I don't know what you're thinking. All I do is joke around and act like a git, I've never been through an experience that you've been going through, but I can see it so clearly that you are hurt and you don't know where to go. You need to let yourself cry." I didn't know how these words were coming from Fred. Why was he so wise all of a sudden? Why did he care so much all of a sudden?

"Let's just go," I said, and without another word, I walked down the stairs, and out of the house. Maybe being away from the memories would help me.

* * *

I walked through the front door and placed my bag down on the floor. I hoped my trunk made it to Andromeda's house successfully. I wished that I didn't have to come here first. I would have preferred the quietness of the Tonks household. I heard footsteps coming towards me, and the next thing I knew, I was surrounded by Charlie, Arthur, Ginny and George. Each of them had a sympathetic look on their face, but also a hopeful glint in their eyes.

"Isabel!" Ginny said, throwing her arms around me. I returned her hug, but only lightly. I wasn't in the mood to be all affectionate. I hoped she understood that. It wasn't a personal thing towards Ginny.

"Hi, Ginny," I replied, my voice dull.

"Bill, go and carry Isabel's things to her room," Molly said to her eldest son. She then turned to me. "You'll be taking Bill and Charlie's old room. Bill will be staying in Diagon Alley and Charlie is leaving for Romania tonight."

"Oh, I don't want to be taking your rooms," I said. "It's completely unfair on you."

"Don't be stupid, Isabel," Charlie said, pulling me into a hug. My big brother, hugging me tightly, reassuring me it was going to be fine. That's what this was. "I'm so sorry this happened to you," he whispered, rocking me back and forth. When Charlie let go, I stared at the family. They were all smiling, like this was some sort of happy family reunion.

"I'm going to go rest," I said. I practically ran away from them all and shut myself in my room. I fell to my knees and began to cry.

"Sirius," I sobbed, looking towards the ceiling. "Why did you have to leave me?"

* * *

I sat in the seat next to the window in my new room. Staring out windows seemed to be the only thing giving me peace at the moment. Watching the world go by made me feel calm. As I stared outside, someone opened and shut the door. I was reluctant to turn around, but I guess I had no choice. Walking towards me, was Arthur. I had to admit, I was surprised to see him.

"Arthur..."

"Hello, Isabel," he said, sitting next to me. "I bet you're wondering what I'm doing here."

"Arthur, I just - "

"Isabel, just listen to me for a moment. I need to ask something, completely out of curiosity, which has been playing on my mind. What did Sirius - "

"No," I said instantly, almost rudely. I stood up and backed away from Arthur. "We are not discussing Sirius. I _can't _discuss him. Every time I hear his name I feel physically sick. Every time I see his picture or think of some memory that involves him, I just want to run away and hide in a cave, and never come back. When I smell his scent, I feel like I'm suffocating. When I cry it's like I'm drowning in my tears. I _can't _discuss him."

"Do you know how brave he was in the First Wizarding War?"

"Arthur, I said - "

"He was a Black. He turned against his family. It made him a target. Yet, he always stayed loyal," Arthur told me. I could almost see a smile on his face. Speaking of Sirius was making me feel ill, however, it also made me feel warmth. It was almost like he was here with me right now. "It was the same loyalty he felt towards you. A week before this all happened, he came to me and said, 'I love her Arthur. It's crazy how she's still with me, because I'm a git and I don't deserve her, but I adore her. I'm going to ask her to marry me. She shouldn't say yes if she knows whats good for her, but I owe it to her. I love her.' He said those exact words." More tears fell down my cheeks at Arthur's words. "He was so devoted to you in a way I had never seen before." I felt guilt come on, as I knew that I was not one hundred percent devoted to him at times. Arthur patted my leg, then stood up. "I just thought you should know." Before Arthur reached the door, I cleared my throat and turned to him.

"Arthur," I said. He stopped and looked at me. He seemed half-surprised that I could still speak. "There is a war coming...and I'm not ready."

"No one is ever ready for a war," he told me before leaving the room. What sense his answer made...

* * *

Everyone had fallen asleep, and here I was, in my room, all alone and wide awake. I didn't want to sleep. I was scared of the nightmares that would terrify my sleep. I held onto the picture of Sirius and I, clutching it close to my chest. This was how I felt closest to Sirius. My eyes were shutting. I was fighting to try and stay awake. I couldn't keep reliving those nightmares. Suddenly, I heard a noise. My head snapped up and my breathing became erratic.

"Hey," Fred whispered. "It's just me."

"Fred?" I said, confused. "Why are you here?"

"I could hear that you were still awake. Having trouble getting to sleep?" I nodded and held my picture closer to me. Fred sat next to me on the bed and the picture caught this eye. He looked back up at me, then back at the picture, then back at me. "Is that how you fall asleep every night now?" I didn't answer him. I just sat there, staring at him blankly. It was like my mind had left me. "Isabel, you can trust me." I suddenly snapped out of my zone and grabbed hold oh his arm.

"Please don't go," I whispered to him, sounding desperate. "I can't be alone. I don't want the nightmares to come back." Fred simply nodded, put his arm around me and kissed my head. I snuggled up to his side and laid my head on his chest.

"I wouldn't know what to do if you weren't here," I whispered to him before drifting away to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: I am SO sorry that this has taken so long to write. EXTREME case of writers block. I had to put two chapters in one just so I could get a proper chapter going. Anyway, I hope that the wait was worth it and you're happy with the chapter.**

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"You know what? He didn't have much to live for...he can be free now."

"He had me, Tonks!" I cried.

* * *

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Andromeda told me to check on you. That's what I'm doing," Fred said, inspecting the bottle of wine. "Really, Isabel, if you were going to get drunk you could have done it in style. This wine is terrible."

"Go away Fred, you're not doing anything but pissing me off."

"Am I now? It seems that is your answer to the whole world at the moment. I am trying to help you." Fred came over and sat down next to me. He put his arm around me and held me tightly.

"You need to go to bed and get some rest. You're going to have a giant headache soon." Fred looked down at me and smiled. I stumbled around, then grabbed Fred's hands for support.

"You know you could always join me in bed..."

"You are completely drunk," Fred said, holding me up. "And you have no idea what you're saying."


	83. Tormented

**Thanks to: LaFlorine, HPFan, IcyRose66, ZabuzasGirl and TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle for your reviews.  
Note: Reviews are getting disappointing at the moment, I know that I'm getting people reading at the amount of traffic I'm getting - just a small review is okay to let me know how I'm going!**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**The Friends' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush/Placebo  
**__**Come Back When You Can by Barcelona**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I woke to the sound of rain pelting down on the roof, and the feeling of warmth under me. I looked up to see Fred, who was also asleep. He had stayed all night. I felt guilty that I had kept him away from his own bed, but I felt even more guilty for the fact that I had just slept with another man. What would Sirius have thought of me. _'Don't go overreacting now, he stayed to make sure you were okay. It wasn't sleeping with another man. Besides, Sirius is dead. What would he be able to do about it?' _My head just told me the painful truth that I wasn't prepared to hear.

"You're awake." I turned to see Fred, rubbing his eyes while sitting up slowly. "Morning." I stared at him, speechless. What could I say? "What's wrong?" He asked. "Did I do something?" I knew I needed to say something, but I couldn't think of anything. My head was full of too many conflicting thoughts.

"I'm sorry - " he started.

"No, stop," I said softly, taking hold of his arm. "You know I'm not mentally stable at the moment, so I apologise if I make you feel any less than you are." I stood up and walked over to the window. It was the middle of summer, yet I couldn't even see ten meters away from the house because of the downpour of rain. "I'm just finding this all very difficult to deal with. It feels like my head has just run away from me. It's just normal, I s'pose."

"What's happening after today?" Fred asked me. "Do you know what's happening with you?"

"I'm going to stay with Andromeda for a while," I told him, turning back to face him. "She's the best person for me to have around at the moment. Besides, she's grieving too. We can help each other get through this all."

"I just wished you were staying here, that's all."

"You can come around anytime to see me, you know that. I'm going to need someone to make me laugh and put a smile on my face," I said. It was true. I was going to need someone to put a smile on my face, and him and George were possibly the only people that were capable of that. Fred simply smiled back, and I knew that he was up for the challenge.

* * *

The Tonks House. It had always been a place of comfort for me. I had always looked for refuge here. But, today, the feeling was different. The feeling was like I was being held up in a prison and I couldn't escape. I would feel more comfortable being at Hogwarts than being here. At least there I would have somewhere to myself. I sat in my new bedroom, feeling the sheets on the bed and looking out the window. There were magnificent green hills and fields of red poppies. The poppies had not died yet, which was peculiar since we were already in summer.

It was a lovely room. It was seemingly homey, and a comfortable place to be spending my nights in. However, I really did not want to be spending all of my time in here. I already missed my dark, dull room that I shared with Sirius at Grimmauld Place. It felt like I belonged there rather than here.

I decided that I needed some rest. I was exhausted and I couldn't deal with anything else today. Maybe sleep would do me some good? Maybe tomorrow I would wake up and everything would be better than it was today? Sure, this was wishful thinking, but maybe...just maybe...if I put my mind to it. I sighed, got into bed and pulled the covers over me. Tomorrow had to be at least better than today. I closed my eyes, and everything went dark.

"_**SIRIUS!" I shouted, wanting for him to turn around and return to me. I ran into the darkness after him. I needed to find him. I reached a dark room, with a veil in the middle. I was twisting and turning, trying to find Sirius. **_

"_**Sirius? Sirius? Where are you?" I called out. I looked over towards the veil to see Sirius standing there, grinning at me. I had found him. I ran over to him and held him in a tight embrace. I took in his scent as he stroked the back of my hair. Suddenly, cackles of laughter filled the dark room. I turned around and whipped my wand out. I was going to protect Sirius. Out of nowhere, a green light came and hit Sirius in the chest.**_

"_**SIRIUS!" I screamed as he fell back into the veil. The cackles of laughter filled the room once again.**_

"_**I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK! I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK!" Bellatrix Lestrange. She turned to me and cackled again. "CRUCIO!" I fell to the ground, screaming. I had never experienced anything more painful.**_

"Isabel! Isabel! Darling, wake up!" My eyes shot open and I sat up quickly to see Andromeda and Ted, sitting there looking at me.

"My girl, what happened? You were screaming as if someone were torturing you with a knife," Ted said, a worried expression on his face. Andromeda opened her arms and I fell into them. I began to sob as Andromeda wiped sweat away from my forehead. What was happening to me? Why was I having these awful nightmares. I rested my head on her shoulder, as if it was too heavy for me to keep it upright.

"I had another nightmare," I cried onto Andromeda's shoulder. "What's happening to me?"

"Sssh, my girl. Sssh. We'll figure this out together. I will be here for you, always," Andromeda whispered, rubbing my back. What was happening to me?

* * *

I sat on one of the benches in the kitchen, drinking milk out of a carton. There was hardly any left, so I decided to take the remainder and just drink it from there. Why use a glass when I would just have to wash it afterwards anyway? Tonks then walked into the kitchen and snatched the milk away from me. I had a feeling Tonks had a problem with me living here. She hadn't been all that welcoming since I arrived.

"We don't drink out of the carton here," Tonks said sternly. I rolled my eyes. She was trying to boss me around, tell me what to do, tell me what I should be doing, when I should go to bed, when I should wake up...it was like I wasn't her friend anymore...I was only a guest in her house. "So I saw Remus the other day." I rolled my eyes. She was only wanting to talk about her new obsession, Remus. Since I had arrived here, she had mentioned him at least five times. "He looks like hell. It's obvious he's hardly slept over the past few days."

"He's lost his best friend, Tonks," I replied bluntly. How could she be so insensitive to his feelings?

"I thought you were his best friend," Tonks said, her expression full of confusion. "Anyway, it's not fair. He won't let me in! All I want to do it help. I just want to be there for him and make him realise that everything is okay and that I am always there for him. I know he's grieving and all - "

"What isn't fair?" I had completely tuned out after those words. I wasn't in the mood to listen to her complaining about insignificant things in her life.

"How come he instantly lets you in, whenever something is wrong with him, but when I try and get through to him he puts his walls up again?" Maybe because he's in love with me and not you?

"Because we've known each other for longer. And because - "

"That's no excuse." I was about to say, because of his feelings for me, but Tonks didn't want to hear that. She didn't want to hear that he didn't feel that way about her.

"Tonks, for Merlin's sakes, stop acting like a child! Remus lost his best friend...practically his brother, and you're all concerned about your relationship with him. You need to give him space and time so he can gather his thoughts, and then maybe he'll come to you, talk, confide and whatever else you want him to do." Not that it was likely. Tonks probably overestimated how Remus felt for her. I was afraid for her - Tonks never took rejection well.

"Well, Sirius is gone." I flinched at her words. They were right, he was gone, but she didn't have to put it so bluntly. "You know what? He's never coming back. Besides, look at the bright side of all of this. He didn't have much to live for. He was locked in his house, living a life he never wanted to live. He was treated like a prisoner. At least he can be free now." After she said those words, I hit Tonks in the face. She stared at me, eyes wide, holding her hand to her cheek.

"He had me!" I cried. "No matter how bad life got for him, I was still there and he was thankful for that! How dare you say there is a bright side to him being dead because as far as we're all concerned we're all grieving over this - me, your mother and Remus. we're all heartbroken that he is gone and you have the stomach to say that there is a bright side to this situation..."

"I LIVE WITH THIS EVERYDAY TOO! Bellatrix was mine, Isabel! I was supposed to be fighting her, but I lost her, and now this happened. You don't think I'm grieving? You don't think I feel guilty about this?"

"How can you say you feel guilty if you start giving me shit about there being a bright side to this?"

"Because I don't know what else to say. You were going to be married to him one day, I get it - "

"You obviously don't get it. Just stay away from me, Nymphadora," I spat. I didn't want to be around her anymore. Whatever else she was preparing to say to me - I didn't want to hear it, and I didn't want anything to do with her. I stormed out of the room and into my bedroom, collapsing on the bed whilst beginning to cry.

* * *

Finally, Ted, Tonks and Andromeda were all out of the house. I needed time to myself. Being boxed up in these walls was beginning to drive me insane, especially with Tonks in the same house. I was still attempting to come to terms with what she had told me just a few hours ago. I wonder what Andromeda would say to her daughter if she said those exact words. I turned on the radio and put the volume right up. I took out one of the bottle's of wine I had taken from Grimmauld Place and began to guzzle it down.

'_It doesn't hurt me._

_You wanna feel how it feels_

_You wanna know, know it doesn't hurt me_

_You wanna hear about the deal I'm making?'_

I sat on the table and continued to down the wine. I wanted to drown my sorrows. I wanted to get rid of these feelings. I wanted to be numb and not worry about this anymore. I just wanted to escape from Sirius' death. Just for a night. It was tormenting me.

'_You._

_It's you and me.'_

The wine was almost gone. The switch could nearly be flicked. The switch where I didn't care about anyone else anymore.

'_And if I only could,_

_Make a deal with God,_

_And get him to swap our places.'_

I finished the first bottle of wine. I threw it into the fireplace across from me. My head fell into my hands as I started to become groggy. I could hear my own breathing over the music. This was all about me now.

'_Be running up that road,_

_Be running up that hill,_

_Be running up that building.'_

I picked up the second bottle of wine and opened it. I began to devour my second bottle of wine. I was beyond caring. No one else understood what I was going through. Tonks had to go and be a bitch and begin to go on about her own love life when I had just lost the person I loved the most. And to make it worse it was Remus that she was going on about.

'_If I only could...' _

The music suddenly stopped. I turned around to see Fred standing there, holding the radio.

"What are you doing?" I slurred, angrily. I was enjoying the numbness.

"Someone's drunk..." He said, looking down at the bottle of wine, and then to the fireplace where the empty bottle had been shattered. He sighed as he walked over and priedthe bottle away from me.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Andromeda told me to check on you. That's what I'm doing," Fred said, inspecting the bottle of wine. "Really, Isabel, if you were going to get drunk you could have done it in style. This wine is terrible."

"Go away Fred, you're not doing anything but pissing me off."

"Am I now? It seems that is your answer to the whole world at the moment. I am trying to help you." Fred came over and sat down next to me. He put his arm around me and held me tightly.

"You need to go to bed and get some rest. You're going to have a giant headache soon." Fred looked down at me and smiled. I stumbled around, then grabbed Fred's hands for support.

"You know you could always join me in bed..."

"You are completely drunk," Fred said, holding me up. "And you have no idea what you're saying." I pushed Fred away from me and frowned at him.

"You don't think I'm pretty?"

"You're so stunning, it hurts, but you have no idea what you're saying."

"So you think I'm pretty but you don't want to have sex with me? How unfair is that!" I stumbled forwards to him, and he caught me in his arms. I grinned up at him and started to sing. I threw my arms around his neck, laughing and singing at the same time. "_Can you dance a Hippogriff, ma ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma_," I sung. "Aren't the Weird Sisters just the best?" I pushed Fred away from me and started dancing around, whipping my hair around. Fred stood there and watched me, not saying a word. Why wouldn't he join me? This was completely fun. I stumbled forward into his arms again.

"Why won't you dance with me?" I whispered, my lips just inches from his.

"Because you're drunk, and I don't want to give you the wrong idea," he whispered back.

"ISABEL!" Someone called. Fred stood me up and backed away from me. Moments later, Andromeda walked into the room. "We're back, dear," she told me, walking over to me. She placed her hands on my cheeks and kissed my forehead, smiling. "Ted and I just went to collect a few things. Vegetables, fruits, eggs and the like. We want to make sure the kitchen is always stocked seeing as we have an extra person now living with us. I hope Fred looked after you."

"She's drunk, Andromeda," Fred said bluntly. "It was horrible wine, though. Embarrassing to get drunk off that stuff." Surprisingly, Andie just laughed.

"I'm not surprised she's drunk, Fred. Thank you for coming around. Will we be seeing you again soon?"

"Of course. I'll see you later." Fred then left the room...without saying goodbye to me. I was very drunk, but I was even more confused.

"What am I going to do with you?" Andie said, turning to me. "What help does getting drunk do?"

"It makes me forget. It makes me numb...so I don't have to feel anymore." Andie placed her hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged away from it.

"Isabel..."

"I don't want your pity," I snapped. "I don't even want to be here."

"HEY!" Someone shouted. It was Tonks. I rolled my eyes at her presence. "Don't speak to my mother like that!"

"Nymphadora, she's drunk. She doesn't know what she's saying."

"Oh, Mother," Tonks said. "Don't be so daft, of course she knows what she's saying. She always knows what she's saying. It's so pathetic of her to get drunk anyway."

"You know what's pathetic? The fact that Bellatrix Lestrange was yours to battle at the Department of Mysteries, yet you let her get away. You let a small little injury get in the way," I spat. "And now because of you, Sirius is dead. _You_ killed him, and now all you can think about is his best friend, who's in love with me. Now that is pathetic." I stumbled away from Andromeda and Tonks. I didn't want to see Tonks' face at all. She disgusted me. She caused Sirius' death. She was in the wrong. _She _was pathetic.

* * *

**A/N: Drunk Isabel getting very vicious towards the end there. Do you guys think she has a reason to be angry at Tonks? Or do you think she's way out of line?**

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"Is that alcohol?" She asked, realising what the smell was.

"Black Family elf-made wine, to be exact."

"You have guests here that are going to give condolences to you, and you turn up drunk!"

"I wouldn't say drunk. I'm halfway to being hungover."

"Isabel, how could you be so irresponsible? You have one duty - "

"I have no duties today," I spat. "And I'm not being irresponsible. I'm grieving my dead boyfriend, so excuse me if my grieving is so inconvenient to you." After those harsh words, I stumbled off towards the crowd. I didn't want to have to deal with Molly Weasley again today. I looked amongst the crowd. Everyone from the Order was here. Dumbledore and Minerva were here. There were Ministry officials, who were obviously showing they were sorry for all those years of being wrong. There wasn't one person here that I wanted to spend my time with. Except for two that caught my eye. Fred, who was in amongst the crowd talking to a few Order members, and Remus, who was standing awkwardly with Tonks. I decided to go and pay him a visit.


	84. Wasting Away

**Thanks to: Tessa, IcyRose66, TheDiva121, bookworm42x & HPFan for your reviews. Another big thank you to dudulehianettefacebook, toneale'anncurtis, YUNeLenna, TheDiva121 & LaFlorine by helping me out a lot in the past 24 hours. Your help is very much appreciated.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Talk Show Host by Radiohead  
**__**Sensible Heart by City and Colour**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"_Au clair de la lune, On n'y voit qu'un peu. On chercha la plume, On chercha le feu. En cherchant d'la sorte, Je n'sais c'qu'on trouva; Mais je sais qu'la porte, Sur eux se ferma_," I sung in a whisper to myself, holding a bottle of wine in my hand. I had locked the doors so Andromeda could not get in. I was to be left alone. I didn't want to be me at this moment. I wanted to be someone else, across the other side of the world. I wanted to be someone who didn't have the burden of being me. Of being a Snape. Of having a dead fiancé. Of having his best friend still in love with me. Of being in love with that best friend. Of playing the part that I had to play. I was sick of being Isabel Snape. My wine bottle was empty, so I threw it into the fireplace in my room and then took out another one. I stared into the fireplace, wondering if my life could get any worse.

Then I remembered the impending war.

My father was a spy for the Order. The Death Eaters thought he was one of them. This was going to prove difficult for me. I didn't want to play a role in this war, but it wasn't up to me to decide. If I had another last name...if I was not the daughter of Severus Snape, then I wouldn't be playing a role in the war. I could sit by and watch the Wizarding World self destruct and I wouldn't have to be apart of it. If only I wasn't a Snape. I took another guzzle from the bottle of wine in my hand. All I cared about was drinking at the moment. Even going outside was proving to be difficult in my state. The flames of the fireplace grew, but I was suddenly thrown out of my own little world when I heard a loud knock on my door.

"Isabel? Isabel! Open the door!" It was Andie.

"I'd rather not," I slurred back to her.

"Alohomora!" I heard Andromeda say before the door burst open. Andie marched over to me, took the bottle of wine away from me and threw it into the fireplace. "You're drunk! Why today, Isabel? Of all days?" Andie said, taking in the stench of alcohol coming from my clothes and my breath. "Do you even remember what is happening today or should I remind you that it's Sirius' memorial at the Burrow? There will be very important people there, and here you are, drunk!"

"Shit! I was upset," I responded. "I-I-I forgot it was today, anyways." I stood up in my tall, thin heels, then nearly fell on Andromeda.

"Oh, Merlin, have mercy on this poor girl," Andie said towards the sky, holding me up.

"I don't want to go," I groaned.

"Everyone is expecting you to go," Andromeda replied sternly. "So you will be going whether you like it or not."

"I don't care for what people expect of me right now. I want to stay here, in my room, with wine and get drunk."

"You're already drunk. Now, stop your complaining and put these on," Andromeda said, passing me a dark pair of glasses.

"What are these?" I asked, holding them up.

"They're what muggles call sunglasses. They'll cover up your eyes. You're going to need them. Now, let me see, black jeans, black shirt, black jacket...you're all ready to go." Andromeda grabbed hold of my arm and lead me out of the room. " Today will be hard for you, Isabel, but Sirius would want you to put on a brave face and - "

"You wouldn't know half the things Sirius would want me to do." Andromeda sighed and only nodded. What else could she do with me? I wasn't listening to her. I wasn't going to do what she wanted.

* * *

Andromeda and I had arrived at the Burrow to see everyone from the Order of the Phoenix, standing around, chatting. It was a sunny day, and the sun was beaming down on us. It was a fair cry from the other day, when it was absolutely miserable. That day was a bit like how I was feeling at the moment. Molly practically ran towards us, putting her arms around me when she reached me. Not even a second later, she pulled back.

"You smell dreadful," she stated.

"I wouldn't say dreadful. I'd say different."

"Is that alcohol?" She asked, realising what the smell was.

"Black Family elf-made wine, to be exact."

"You have guests here that are going to give condolences to you, and you turn up drunk!"

"I wouldn't say drunk. I'm halfway to being hungover."

"Isabel, how could you be so irresponsible? You have one duty - "

"I have no duties today," I spat. "And I'm not being irresponsible. I'm grieving my dead boyfriend, so excuse me if my grieving is so inconvenient to you." After those harsh words, I stumbled off towards the crowd. I didn't want to have to deal with Molly Weasley again today. I looked amongst the crowd. Everyone from the Order was here. Dumbledore and Minerva were here. There were Ministry officials, who were obviously showing they were sorry for all those years of being wrong. There wasn't one person here that I wanted to spend my time with. Except for two that caught my eye. Fred, who was in amongst the crowd talking to a few Order members, and Remus, who was standing awkwardly with Tonks. I decided to go and pay him a visit.

"Remus," I said softly, walking up to him. As I became closer, I tripped, then fell into his arms.

"Isabel, you're drunk."

"I know," I giggled. "Me, drunk." I turned to face Tonks and my giggling stopped. "What are you doing here?" Remus looked between us and seemed confused.

"I am paying my respects to Sirius," she replied softly.

"You shouldn't be here when you're the reason that he's dead," I whispered harshly. I felt someone grab my arm, and I looked over my shoulder to see Remus holding it tightly, a stern look on his face. I shrugged out of his grip and stared at him. "What are you doing?"

"You're drunk and you're saying things that are unfair - "

"Unfair? Nymphadora here couldn't keep up with the person who she was supposed to be dueling. Bellatrix Lestrange may have cursed him into that archway but Tonks is the reason she did exactly that," I snapped. Remus' eyes widened at my words, as if he couldn't handle what I was saying. Was he shocked that I was saying it, or was he shocked at something else? Regardless, I would stand by my harsh words.

"Isabel, you don't know what you're saying..."

"Remus, I know that you're enjoying the attention from Little Miss ugly purple-spiky-hair over here, but don't let her get the wrong idea since she's obsessed with you. Remember to remind her that you've got eyes for her best friend. Oh, wait, that's me!" I laughed, then turned to Tonks. "You can play around with him as much you want, just remember you'll never really have him Nymphadora."

"Isabel, that's enough," Remus said. "I can understand that you're grieving for Sirius but this isn't you. This isn't the girl that I fell in love with. I don't even know who you are right now. The real Isabel is kind, compassionate, loving, caring...just a wonderful person. And this Isabel is cruel, mean, low and simply disgraceful. Where did the old Isabel go?" Remus' words hurt, but they were true. I was cruel and mean. I was disgraceful. I wasn't me.

"Maybe that Isabel died when Sirius fell back into that archway," I whispered. I looked at both Remus and Tonks, then backed away. It wasn't smart to be around them in my state. I stumbled away in my high heels, trying my best to keep upright. I didn't want anyone to realise that I was completely and utterly drunk and off the rails. I looked all around me. People stared at me - the ex-fiancé of Sirius Black that was now left with nothing but the memory of him. The only woman to had ever taught Sirius Black what commitment was like. The only woman to had ever been truly loved by him. They must have thought it was a tragic story, but they didn't know half of it.

* * *

I sat there, disinterested at people going on about how they knew Sirius, and what a 'great guy' he was when he was at Hogwarts, how sorry they were for believing he murdered people and how sorry they were that the people that loved him (Remus, Harry, Andromeda and myself), had lost him. It was a whole heap of drivel to me. Suddenly, once he was dead, people started to care. Why didn't they care when he was still alive?

"Isabel," Dumbledore said. "You were obviously the closest to Sirius in the last few...months, of his life. Would you like to share what the life that you two shared together was like? I'm sure everyone would like to hear about the side of Sirius that we did not get to see."

"It's private," I replied bluntly. "It's not something that I want to share with the world. Especially all of you." Dumbledore seemed taken aback by what I had just said. If I was my normal, sober self, sure I would have shared the wonderful memories that I shared with Sirius. But I wasn't my normal, sober self. I was my nasty, cruel, drunk self.

"Is there anything you would like to say at all?" Dumbledore asked. I looked at Molly and Andie. Their eyes pleaded with me not to be stupid.

"Alright, I'll share something with you all. I don't think half of you should be here because you didn't know Sirius! Sirius wouldn't have wanted this. Sirius didn't even know half of you. If you really want to know what the last few months of his life was like - he spent his months with me, locked inside a house that he hated because you all wrongly accused him of murder. He spent it desperately wanting a normal house, a normal family and to be a free man. The night before he died, he proposed to me and we became engaged. We would have married when his name was clear, and we would have had the life that he wanted. You all think of Sirius as the Hogwarts playboy that wanted to go out and party and have a good time. My Sirius was one that wanted the normal life. I realise that I took him for granted many a time, but none of you gave him a real chance." After my last word I stormed away from everyone. I ran away from the crowd and found my sanctuary in the guest room of the Burrow. I buried my head in my hands, screamed, then burst into tears. What did I just say? Why did I say it? What was happening to me? Isabel Snape was wasting away. The real me was being broken down bit by bit. I was losing myself, and soon I would be too far in to save myself. The door creaked open behind me, and I turned to see Fred walking in, concern written all over his face.

"What's happening to you?" He asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "I'm broken. I hate myself. I don't want this. I don't want to be this person. I've screwed everything up. My best friends probably hate me now, and I don't want to even start on Remus..."

"You're just in a bad spot at the moment."

"Help me," I said as he put his arms around me. I cried into his chest, realising everything that I had done "Help me. I want all this to stop."

"You need to stop drinking, for starters, and then you need to apologise. You've hurt many people...especially Tonks. She's your best friend. When you left Remus and Tonks before, she started crying. She doesn't know what to do anymore. She knows she made a mistake, and she doesn't want to lose you." I didn't want to lose her either. This dark side to me that I was showing to everyone just took over and that's the part that hurt Tonks. I also realised what she felt for Remus, and I had to step back. He wasn't mine. I didn't want him that way either. I had that chance with Remus and I decided that I didn't want it. I wasn't going to stop Tonks having her chance with him.

"My head really hurts," I said softly, holding my hand up to my head.

"I'm not surprised," Fred said, laughing a little.

"Does everyone hate me?" I whispered.

"They realise that you're struggling. They'll forgive you."

"Does anyone know how Harry is?" I asked Fred. I was worried for Harry. I saw how he reacted when Sirius went through the archway. I knew how special his relationship was with Sirius. I wanted people to stop worrying about me and start worrying about him. He was the one that they should be checking up on. He had lost Sirius as much as I had.

"I don't know," Fred replied. "As far as I know, he's safe."

"I need more than safe, Fred. Safe could mean anything."

"I know you're worried about Harry, we all are. Mum sends a letter to Dumbledore everyday, just wondering where he is and what he is doing. Ron is on edge too. As far as we know he's at the Dursley's and all is okay."

"It can't be okay if he's there," I mumbled. I had heard what Harry had been through with them. It wasn't fair. Fred simply nodded back at me, and we fell into silence. I was so glad that Fred wasn't sick of me yet. I don't know where I would be without him. He had been so good to me. I was lucky that I had him.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Fred asked, breaking the silence. I nodded back at him.

"I just need to get away from all these people. I'm not the best people person when I'm still a little drunk," I replied with a small laugh.

"I'm going to agree with that," he said, helping me up. I started walking towards the door, but the alcohol was affecting how I was walking, so Fred scooped me up and carried me in his arms. "Remember last time I had to do this?" I laughed quietly and nodded.

"The Yule Ball last year..."

"My brother gave the Weasley family a very bad name that night. He acted like a Malfoy."

"Well, you were the one who put the Weasley family name back in it's place," I said, leaning my head on his chest. "Thank you, Freddie," I whispered before falling asleep in the safety and warmth of Fred's arms.

* * *

**A/N: So, do you think that'll be the end of Isabel's downward spiral? I don't think she's ever reached a lower point than she did in this chapter. I agree with all of your reviews - she's acting like a selfish bitch, but she's mourning. People mourn in different ways - and death changes people. Death has changed Isabel, Remus, Tonks...death has changed them all. Just remember that!**

**Reviews, guys! Keep em' coming! I know you can do better then this! You used to be averaging on 10 a chapter! What happened to those days! I love my reviewers, every one of you, and boosting the reviews up would make me spread the love around even more!**

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**Next Chapter:**

"Isabel, I apologise. Sirius died and all I could talk about was my situation with Remus. It was insensitive of me, especially since you're living with us now and since you're my best friend. I hope we can put this behind us." I stared at my best friend. I wanted to forgive her so badly. I wished that I could have taken all this pain that I had put her through away. I wanted to be there for her, and I wanted her to be there for me. I wanted to help her with Remus, and I wanted to be by her side through anything.

"I'm so sorry," I cried, putting my arms around Tonks and holding her tightly. "I'm so sorry."


	85. Letting Go

**Thanks to: TheDiva121, HPFan, LaFlorine, IcyRose66, YUNeLenna, ZabuzasGirl & toneale'anncurtis for your reviews of last chapter.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**The Friends' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Falling Out of Trees by Barcelona  
**__**Lean Into The Fall by MONA [for flashbacks in the chapter]**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

I woke up to the sun streaming through the gap in my curtains. As it hit my face, it warmed up my whole body. I smiled into my pillow and thought of Sirius. He loved the mornings where you could feel the warmth from the sun through the windows. He said that it helped him feel free, and that the world wasn't such a bad place to live in. I threw my covers off me and stretched my arms. This morning, I too, felt free. I didn't feel like I had these weights on my shoulders. I felt normal. I looked to my bedside table and saw a note placed carefully next to a vase of beautiful flowers.

_Dear Isabel,_

_Be strong. Be brave. Be yourself._

_You lost yourself, today you will find her._

_I will be here whenever you need me._

_Fred._

I smiled at the note. It made me more motivated to try today. Sure, I still missed Sirius as much as I did yesterday. His death still hurt as much as it did yesterday. But today something felt different. Today, I didn't feel like sitting around with a bottle of wine feeling sorry for myself. Today, I felt the old Isabel, the real me, was going to return.

* * *

I walked down the hallway and stopped when I saw Tonks leave her room. Once she had shut her door, she looked up and met my eyes. She looked hurt. Very hurt. She looked like I had stabbed her with a knife in the back. I walked over to her slowly, and silently. My hangover had warn off, so now I was thinking straight. Now I could set the record straight.

"Isabel, I apologise. Sirius died and all I could talk about was my situation with Remus. It was insensitive of me, especially since you're living with us now and since you're my best friend. I hope we can put this behind us." I stared at my best friend. I wanted to forgive her so badly. I wished that I could have taken all this pain that I had put her through away. I wanted to be there for her, and I wanted her to be there for me. I wanted to help her with Remus, and I wanted to be by her side through anything.

"I'm so sorry," I cried, putting my arms around Tonks and holding her tightly. "I'm so sorry." She put her arms around me and held me as tightly as I was holding her. "I was so horrible to you, but you know that wasn't me. You are not the reason Sirius is dead. Bellatrix is the only reason he is dead. I never meant to blame it on you. I was just out of control. I was a bitch."

"Yeah, you were," she laughed. "But I forgive you." I pulled back and put my hands on her shoulders.

"And your hair is not ugly. That was low."

"You did and said many things that were low, but you were mourning. I forgive you," she said.

"And, last but not least, I want to help you with Remus." She froze. It was like she couldn't believe it. She probably thought that I had an aggressive hold on him that I never wanted to let go. I wasn't surprised that she thought that of me.

"Why? You and him - "

"Remus and I nothing. I would be lying to you if I said that I didn't have feelings for him, but we're never going to be together like that. We had our chances. I know how you feel about him, and maybe he will feel the same for you one day. You two would be cute together. I want you to have a go with him," I told her, smiling. I knew that if they ever got together that I would feel somewhat jealous, but she deserved to have Remus, because I knew she would love him with all her heart, something that I found difficult to do. Tonks smiled and took my hand.

"It's a new day, Isabel," she said.

"It certainly is. A beautiful one of that."

"Sirius would be proud of you," Tonks said, nodding. "He was so in love with you, Isabel. He'd be proud of you for starting to let go."

"I don't want to let go," I replied.

"You don't have to forget about him. You never will. There will always be that special place in your heart for him. You don't have to forget, but you need to let go." Tonks was telling the truth. She was right. I could not continue, going on day after day, only just getting by. I needed to live, just as everyone else was. I couldn't do this anymore. As much as it would hurt, I would have to try to let go.

"I'm sorry," I told her once more.

"Your apology is accepted." I held out my arms and we embraced again. This is how it should be between us. We should never let anything come between us. We were best friends. We were sisters. We were family. We would be there for each other until our very last breath.

* * *

I knocked on the front door of the cottage. I remember the last time I was here, it was a very emotional day for me. That was the day I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life. I knew straight afterwards that I had made the right one. He opened the door, and I stared at him, not saying a word. He looked like he hadn't slept at all, and I could smell the stench of alcohol coming from him. I couldn't judge though. I was the same way yesterday.

"What are you doing here, Isabel?" He asked.

"Can we go for a walk?" I said, my eyes pleading with him. "Please, Remus." He sighed, walked out his front door and shut it behind him.

"Let's go, then," he told me. I half smiled and walked down the path in front of us that lead into the forest. This forest was slightly familiar. I couldn't put my finger on what it was though. The forest was not like the dark forest. It was not intimidating and frightening. This forest was peaceful, colourful and bright. It was somewhere that gave you a place to think. It gave you freedom. I guess that's why Remus lived so close to it.

"So, why are we on this walk? What is it you want to talk about?" He asked.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday."

"I think it's Nymphadora that you need to apologise to. What you said to about her and to her yesterday was uncalled for. It was the worst behaviour I've ever seen from you," Remus said. "I was disappointed in you. I never thought, no matter how bad things got, that you would turn your back on the people that love you and were trying to help you."

"I know, Remus. I know. I have apologised to her. I said some disgusting things about her that I'm not proud of, but I want to apologise for putting you into that uncomfortable situation. It wasn't fair on you at all. I didn't know who I was. But then I realised, Sirius wouldn't want this for me. He would also be disgusted with the way that I am acting. I wasn't me, but I feel like I'm starting to become myself again. I just hope you'll forgive me for the way I acted." Remus stopped and sat on one of the rocks on the side of the path, then tapped the spot next to him. I sat down next to him and half smiled again. I wanted to show him I was sincere.

"I've been so worried about you, Isabel."

"As has everyone else..."

"We had a reason to, didn't we? There was a point in time when I didn't think you were going to make it through this," Remus said. I was shocked. Was he thinking that I contemplated suicide?

"When did you think this?"

"Last night."

"I have never thought about - "

"I know now that you haven't. I'm thankful that you woke up to yourself and realised the path you were on was very dangerous. I hated seeing you like that. I didn't know what was worse, seeing you as a complete drunken wreck, or seeing you depressed and miserable. I felt like I wasn't doing my job seeing you like that."

"What job was that?"

"Protecting you. Looking after you. Sirius and I talked a few days before his death," Remus said, sighing and bowing his head. "He said that if anything ever happened to him, that I needed to look after you. I'm failing in my job right now. I haven't been there for you as much as I should be. And I'm sorry. I've been spending my time with someone else when you're the one who needs me." Who had he been spending his time with? It didn't matter. I had Fred. I didn't want him worrying about me all the time.

"Thank you, Remus. But it's okay. You don't have to spend your time worrying about me."

"I made a promise to Sirius." I bowed my head at his name and shook my head. How things would be easier if you were still with me, Sirius.

"Can we talk about him?" I asked. "I just want to talk about him to the only other person in the world, apart from Harry, that knew the real him. I just want to hear stories about him. Stories that I had never heard. I want to hear his name. I just want to speak about him." Speaking about him may help me. It may help me continue on with life. It may help me let go.

"Of course we can talk about him. Do you just want to hear anything?"

"Anything."

"Well there was this one time..."

* * *

Remus continued talking, telling me all these wonderful stories about Sirius that I hadn't heard. He was such a good friend to Remus and James when they were back at Hogwarts. Stories about James and Lily's wedding were so special, but funny. Sirius knew how to crack a few jokes in his wedding speeches apparently. Some of them clean, some of them not so clean. That was the Sirius I liked hearing about. The fun loving one who knew how to have a good time, not the one who was miserable and locked up for twelve years. I didn't like hearing about the one that I didn't know. I wanted the good memories to stick with me forever, not the bad ones.

"Merlin, Isabel. Sirius never knew a thing about commitment until he met you. He never had a long term girlfriend at Hogwarts. The longest was Marlene McKinnon, and that lasted not even three weeks. He always said back at school that he never wanted to get married. He preferred the one night stands and the occasional hook-ups. He liked the single life, he did. You changed him, Isabel, and you changed him for the better."

"Tonks says I need to let go. It hasn't been that long since his death, but she says that I don't need to forget...I just need to let go."

"I think she's right. You'll never be able to forget, Isabel. And no one is ever going to ask you to. Sirius was and will forever be a big part in your life, but you have to let go of the hold his memory has on you, or you'll drown in your grief." I looked up at the trees, blowing gracefully in the wind. I shut my eyes and thought back to all the beautiful memories that Sirius and I had shared.

_"So you're going to call me by my last name now. How considerate of you."_

_"What can I say? I'm a considerate guy."_

_I scoffed, "oh, yeah. Amazingly considerate. You're so considerate that you are upset about me not having greasy hair." Black smirked at nodded._

_"I know."_

_"Right, well you know then not to get on the bad side of me..." I said, raising an eyebrow._

_"And why wouldn't I want to do that, Professor Snape?" Sirius grinned and I smiled back, as if what I was about to say wasn't that important at all._

_"Because I am a lovely young girl, teaching young witches and wizards how to control their magic and act as good, young citizens in the wizarding world and you are running from the Ministry of Magic as you have broken out of Azkaban after being convicted of murder."_

* * *

_"Why are you so..."_

_"So what?"_

_"Attractive." I think he just blurted that out - he couldn't have said that without knowing what he was saying!_

_"Ah - er - well - um..." I didn't have a clue what to say. Not one bloody clue._

_"I shouldn't have said that," Sirius said, "I cannot believe I just said that. You are the daughter of him for Merlin's sake! Bloody hell..."_

* * *

_"What happened to you?" He asked. I stumbled out of the fireplace and fell into Sirius' arms._

_"Easy...easy" he said softly, helping me to sit in the armchair. _

* * *

_"I have to go" I said, standing up. I wasn't going to face the music. Not today._

_"Wait," Sirius said, standing up after me, "are you coming back?" Sirius' eyes pleaded with me, and I could only nod._

_"Of course" I replied softly. A smile crept up Sirius lips before I turned to walk off._

* * *

_"Well, there is one thing..." Sirius replied._

_"What would that be?" I asked. Suddenly, Sirius leaned forward and his lips landed on mine. The moment that I knew was coming was finally here. Sirius was kissing me, and I was kissing him back. This kiss was so much different then the one I had with Remus. There was a different feeling...an amazing feeling. Fireworks. _

* * *

_"It's true, Isabel. I'm not allowed out of this house. I'm running from the Ministry because I was wrongly accused of killing people."_

_"You'll always be something to me," I whispered, leaning up and kissing Sirius softly. I pulled back and smiled before resting my head on his chest. He needed to know he wasn't worthless._

* * *

_"Sirius!" I exclaimed before kissing him softly. It felt a little awkward knowing Dumbledore was watching us, but I just needed Sirius at the moment. Sirius broke the kiss and then pulled me into a hug._

* * *

_I was almost asleep when I felt an arm slip around my waist. I sighed and turned over to see Sirius laying next to me. It was becoming real now; we were becoming real. He reached out and brushed a few strands of hair away from my eyes._

_"There, now I can see your beautiful eyes," he whispered._

_"Am I dreaming?" I asked softly._

_"Unfortunately for you, no," Sirius replied, laughing quietly. "I'm so incredibly lucky. I don't deserve you." I smiled and closed my eyes, hoping to sleep._

_"I'm the lucky one," I murmured._

* * *

_"Hmm, well, I think that - " a smile grew on Sirius face as he stood up and swooped me off the chair, picking me up in his arms. I laughed loudly as my arms reached around Sirius neck for stability. I felt like I was going to fall backwards at any second._

_"Sirius," I laughed, "what are you doing?" Sirius spun around and I held on tighter._

_"Sirius! Put me down!" I shouted, trying not to let my laughs get in the way. Sirius smiled and pressed a kiss to my lips. All the cares that I had went away at that second. He was the center of my world. This was what it felt like to be in love._

* * *

_"I will miss you, though."_

_"As you've said already," I smirked, continuing to tease him. Sirius brushed his lips against mine in the most tender manner. My hands ran up his chest to his shoulders, then interlocked behind his neck._

* * *

_"Hi everybody, am I late?" I said, grinning. Sirius jumped up from the table and came over to where I was standing. He put his arms around me and spun me around before kissing me ever so softly. When he pulled back, he cupped my face in my hands and smiled._

_"What in Merlin's name are you doing here?" He asked._

* * *

"_Nothing you do could ever displease me," I replied._

_"Now that's a lie. I do plenty of things that displease you."_

_"And those are the flaws that make you human, but you wouldn't be the same without those flaws. You aren't perfect, and neither am I, but it's the things you do that annoy me that makes me cherish you even more." I closed my eyes again and sighed. "You never displease me."_

* * *

_"You look pretty tonight," Sirius mumbled. I laughed under my breath and continued to stroke his hair._

_"I love you," Sirius said softly, half asleep. This shocked me. This was the first time he ever said he loved me. I smiled as a tear rolled down my cheek. I was happy. This made me happy. My life at the moment was perfect. I had never reacted this way to someone telling me they loved me - this time I genuinely returned the feelings._

_"I love you," I whispered in return. I kissed Sirius as another tear ran down my cheek, "I love you so much." Sirius then fell asleep and began to snore. I smiled down at Sirius. This was real - we were real; and knew that I loved him. So much._

* * *

_"Marry me," he said. I was stunned._

_"What?"_

_"Isabel, come on. We've been together for over a year now. I know we won't be able to get married until my name is clear, but even being engaged to you will be enough until then. I love you, and I want to spend every single breath that I have left with you. You are - "_

_"I will," I replied. "I will marry you."_

_"What?"_

_"I said I will. I will marry you. I'll go wherever you will go." He smiled, as did I. He put his arm around me and kissed me softly. This was the happiest that I had ever been in my life. I had never looked forward to the future as much as I did today. I couldn't wait for June 18, because I would then be able to say I was engaged, and soon to be married to Sirius Black._

* * *

_"Yeah, you're right. But, we can't go before I get the chance to do this." Sirius smiled, wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. He leaned forward and kissed my lips softly. This was perfect. He was perfect. Together, we were perfect. I loved Sirius Black. I was in love with Sirius Black. He pulled back and kissed my head._

_"I love you," he whispered._

_"I love you, too. And whatever happens, I will always love you," I replied._

_"No, don't do that. We are not saying goodbye's. We are coming out of this. We are going to come out of this alive and well. Not even Death Eaters can break us apart. They're too dim." I nodded and giggled at Sirius' words. I believed him. We were going to walk out of this battle unharmed. Any other way was impossible._

_"You two," Mad-Eye spat, "are you two finished with your cosy little moment? We have to go!" I nodded as Sirius' hand slipped away from mine. He winked at me and I smiled._

* * *

I opened my eyes, and looked at Remus. A few tears fell down my cheeks, but I brushed them away and simply nodded. This was what I had to do. The memories we shared would stay in my heart forever. They were special. Each kiss. Each touch. They had their own special place with me. But I couldn't do this anymore. I couldn't pretend like he was going to come back. I couldn't continue to get drunk to feel numb, like I didn't want to feel at all. I needed to move on with my life.

"I'm ready to let go." Remus half smiled, nodded, then put his arm around me.

"We'll get through this together." I looked up at him and nodded. His eyes were honest. He had lost Sirius as much as I had, and he seemed ready to let go to. We walked towards the sunset, arms around each other, smiling. We closed our eyes as the bright, warm sunset hit our skin. Tonight was a rare, but beautiful sunset. It was a gift that Sirius had sent us, to tell us he was watching over us. To tell us that he was going to be okay, and so were we. He was sending us a message - he wanted us to let him go.

And so we were.

* * *

**A/N: So, Isabel has finally woken up. Do you guys think it'll last long or do you think she'll end up going off the rails again soon? I wanted to include the flashbacks in this chapter just so you could realise why Isabel was mourning so much, and then why she needed to let him go to move on. Speaking of moving on, how do you guys think she'll move on?**

**REVIEWS GUYS! Come on, try and pick them up! I really, really would like your feedback. It really helps me as a writer and helps me to grow. Especially seeing as I have an original character in the story, they're very helpful! They're doing better then previous times, though!**

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**Next Chapter:**

"I know what happened at the memorial, and I feel awful, but I was drunk and I was obviously not myself. But, I am trying to move forward in my life. I need Hogwarts."

"I don't know if this is the wisest thing to do for you, Isabel. You can return to Hogwarts at some point, but not now. You're not mentally stable. And with Harry there - "

"Isn't the closer the better for Harry and I? We both lost someone very important in our lives and we need to support each other now more than we ever have. I know that it may be difficult for me to return to a normal, scheduled life, like my old life used to be, but I love Hogwarts. It's one place where I have felt accepted and loved by people - even if it wasn't the majority. It's times like these when I need you Headmaster, and I need Minerva, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione...and my father. Hogwarts will be good for me, Headmaster. It always has been." Professor Dumbledore simply nodded. Did that mean he agreed with my statements?

"I understand, and Hogwarts may be good for you, but would you not prefer to be here? With the Tonks family? Your sister? The rest of the Weasley's? Remus? I know you have been spending a lot of time with Fred Weasley, and I have heard how he cheers you up and makes you feel the least bit happy in your time of darkness. Would you not prefer to be closer to them?"


	86. Twenty One

**Thanks to: LaFlorine, HPFan, reasonableperson, TheDiva121, Guest & dudulehianettefacebook for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Out Of Our Hands by Gemma Hayes  
**__**A White Demon Love Song by The Killers**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, any of it's characters or any of the ideas from the book.**

* * *

The nights had passed. The days had passed. The weeks had passed. It was now just over a month since Sirius had died. Isabel Snape had returned. It was funny. I had come so far. I was making progress in each minute that I continued to breathe. I had become myself again. These days, I would have a genuine smile on my face, not some fake one to trick people into thinking that I cared.

I checked the time and jumped out of bed in a rush when I realised I had slept in. Dumbledore and Minerva were visiting me today to tall about my future at Hogwarts. I rushed around madly, throwing on my clothes and my heels, and patting down my hair so I looked half decent. I wanted to make a good impression on them, to show them that I still belonged at Hogwarts. If I made an even better impression, maybe they would let me teach on my own this year?

* * *

It was quiet. Too quiet. Minerva and Professor Dumbledore sat on one side of the table, and I sat on the other. We all sipped our tea quietly and took in each other's presence. Dumbledore, as brilliant and wise as he was, was still intimidating to me. I remember meeting him for the first time in my first year. Nothing had changed since then. I continued to look towards him for guidance, but he had always made me feel a little afraid of him. Maybe it was his power? I didn't know.

"Andromeda tells me you are doing much better," Minerva said with a smile, breaking the silence. I nodded back at her, placing my tea back on the table.

"I am. I'm not going to lie, it has not been the best time in my life. I don't think I've ever really felt grief or loss this deep before, but I am doing better. I feel like my life is back on track. That is all I can ask of myself at the moment. That being said, I really think it'd be beneficial for me to return to Hogwarts for my teaching duties," I told them both, with pleading eyes. I really needed this. It was going to keep my mind off everything that had just happened in my life. It was going to give me more motivation to move forward as a person. I didn't only want this. I _need _this.

"Isabel," Minerva sighed. "Albus and I think after the things you have been through that you need time to yourself! You need to find who you are again, because it's clear you lost yourself at - "

"I know what happened at the memorial, and I feel awful, but I was drunk and I was obviously not myself. But, I am trying to move forward in my life. I need Hogwarts. I have found myself again. I know who I am. I'm Isabel Snape, the girl that falls head over heels for the wrong people, and the girl that attempts to see the good in people that they don't see themselves. I'm the same Isabel Snape that walked into Hogwarts when she was eleven, finally having found a place where she belongs. I know who I am!"

"I don't know if this is the wisest thing to do for you, Isabel. You can return to Hogwarts at some point, but not now. You're not mentally stable. And with Harry there - " Dumbledore began before I cut him off.

"Isn't the closer the better for Harry and I? We both lost someone very important in our lives and we need to support each other now more than we ever have. I know that it may be difficult for me to return to a normal, scheduled life, like my old life used to be, but I love Hogwarts. It's one place where I have felt accepted and loved by people - even if it wasn't the majority. It's times like these when I need you Headmaster, and I need Minerva, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione...and my father. Hogwarts will be good for me, Headmaster. It always has been." Professor Dumbledore simply nodded. Did that mean he agreed with my statements, or he was setting me up just to cut me down? Why were they not understanding?

"I understand, and Hogwarts may be good for you, but would you not prefer to be here? With the Tonks family? Your sister? The rest of the Weasley's? Remus? I know you have been spending a lot of time with Fred Weasley, and I have heard how he cheers you up and makes you feel the least bit happy in your time of darkness. Would you not prefer to be close to him? Andromeda has told me that he should be credited for helping you get yourself back together, as they say. Why would you want to leave him?" Was Dumbledore playing mind games on me? Was he trying to trick me? Why was he saying these things when he knew my true desire was to be at Hogwarts?

"I want to be around my father. He is my true family. He is the one that knows best for me," I told them, nodding.

"Your father wanted you away from Sirius Black. He will hardly be sympathetic with your situation," Dumbledore told me. Surely this wasn't the same Dumbledore that I had always known. Why was he speaking this way? Did he know something that I did not?

"I know Father had a deep hatred of Sirius. However, I also know my father is loyal. He may not have been placed in Gryffindor, but he is truly loyal. I am his daughter. I am his _blood_. Blood will always be thicker than everything else."

"You did not show that when you gave your father up for Sirius," Dumbledore said bluntly. My eyes widened. What had happened to the real Albus Dumbledore?

"I did no such thing. I never chose Sirius over Father. I never stopped loving Father. I was loyal to him, just as he was to me. I know that he was not happy with the fact that I did chose to love Sirius, but that didn't mean that I lost him. He will always love me no matter what. I am his daughter." I believed the words I was saying. Father would never stop loving me just because of who my romantic interest is.

"Isabel, I for one would love you to return to Hogwarts," Minerva said, smiling, before she turned to the Headmaster. "She really does need to be around Severus and Harry. This is the best thing for her, and the best thing for the students. You know how much the students adore her." Dumbledore rose from his seat and walked towards the window, seemingly pondering what Minerva had said. I clasped my hands together and closed my eyes, praying to the Wizard Gods that the Headmaster would let me come back to Hogwarts.

"I suppose you are returning to Hogwarts to teach for another year, then, Miss. Snape," Dumbledore told me, turning back to face Minerva and I. A huge smile appeared on my face. I was so grateful for the opportunity to return to Hogwarts. I knew it was where I truly belonged. "However, you will not be the lone Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year." The smile was wiped off of my face. What else did I have to do to prove that I was worthy of teaching on my own? "Your father will accompany you as teacher."

"Wait,_ WHAT?" _I shouted angrily. Father, teaching with me? How difficult did he want to make t "Headmaster, I've worked to hard to get the position on my own. And Father specialises in Potions, not Defence Against the Dark Arts!"

"Your father is very skilled in that very subject," Dumbledore told me, with a slight smile appearing on his face, obviously attempting to calm the tension in the room.

"I am very skilled in that subject!" I snapped back at the Headmaster. "What else do I have to do to prove this to you?"

"I think what Albus is trying to say, dear, is that you have just come out of a very upsetting situation. You are just starting to recover. He thinks that maybe you would be better off having someone teaching by your side."

"Yes, thank you Minerva," Dumbledore said with a soft smile. Why was he doing this to me? Dumbledore had always trusted my judgement. Sure, I had a bad period in my life, and it was rough. I could have handled it better, but I was okay now. "Isabel, I think it would also be quite beneficial for you to learn under your father. You had troubles with your previous three mentors." I couldn't argue against the Headmaster there. My first mentor, I fell in love with. My second, I didn't get along with. The third fired me. Remus, Mad-Eye and Umbridge...maybe working with Father would at least give me a mentor without all the complications coming along with it. I rested my head in my hands and sighed.

"Fine." Dumbledore smiled and held out his hand. I shook it reluctantly and put on a fake smile. I know I said no fake smiles today...but this was an exception.

"I'm very pleased you'll be returning, Isabel. I shall see you at the next Order meeting, yes?"

"Of course." With that, Dumbledore and Minerva said their goodbyes, and left. It was quite a bizarre meeting. Nevertheless, I was happy. I was returning to Hogwarts. I guess you always find your way home sooner or later.

* * *

"I'm going back!" I shouted. Andromeda grinned and threw her arms around me.

"Congratulations, Isabel! I am so proud of how much progress you have made in the last few couple of days. And you know who would be even more proud of you?" She asked. I had an idea. Sirius. I bet he was beaming down on me at the moment. I knew all he ever wanted for me was to be happy and to be free. Now I finally was, I bet he would be proud. I rested my head on Andromeda's shoulder and smiled.

"Everything seems to be falling into place for once," I told her. "After these past couple of weeks, I just wanted nothing more than to return to Hogwarts, where I belonged. Do you get what I mean, Andie?"

"Of course I do. You've come so far, Ted and I are so proud. Even Tonks. She's talking about you as if she was your proud older sister." I laughed. I was so glad Tonks and I were in the place that we used to be. Friendships like ours did not come around as often as we'd like. Ours was special. It had some sort of special meaning that I couldn't explain. "Speaking of proud, I believe Fred is coming around for dinner tonight with Bill and Fleur."

"Fred's coming around for dinner? Who invited him?" Andie looked surprised, as if I'd ever ask that question.

"I thought maybe you'd like him to come around this evening. You've become very close, and I thought - "

"Don't worry, Andie. It's fine. I was just wondering why he was coming, is all."

* * *

Fred, Bill, Fleur, Andromeda, Ted and I sat around the table, placing different pieces of meat and vegetables on our plate. It was a lovely meal that Andromeda had cooked, I had never known that she was so talented. She could almost go up against Molly, and that was a big thing to be able to do! Fred sat on one side of me, Fleur on the other. I was glad to have my sister here. She was keeping me level headed at the moment. I hoped she would stay here in England forever. I never wanted her to return to France, and, with her and Bill going so well, she probably wouldn't want to. Maybe Gabrielle would join us one day, too, when she was older.

"It was lovely of you three to come," Andromeda said to Fred, Bill and Fleur.

"Well, we would never say no to an invitation from you," Bill replied with a smile. Bill, ever the gentleman. "Besides, it's a perfect build up to the big day tomorrow."

"What do you mean big day? What's happening tomorrow?" I asked them. They all stared back at me, eyes widened. Obviously, something big was happening, and I couldn't remember it.

"Isabel, uh - " Andromeda started.

"It's your birthday," Bill finished. I froze. I had forgotten my own birthday. It was a big milestone to turn twenty-one, and I had forgotten about it completely. How embarrassing. "I don't want a big birthday party. I don't want a fuss to be made over me."

"Eet eez no' going to be a big one," Fleur told me, patting my hand.

"Just a few family and friends over to help celebrate your twenty-one successful years on this planet," Fred said, smiling. I gave up. They had already planned something, and I would be scolded for not taking part in my own birthday celebrations. Maybe it would be good? And maybe it was just going to be small?

The door shut, obviously meaning that Tonks had finally made it home. We all stopped eating our dinner to watch her entrance into the room. She walked in, but she was not alone. Holding her hand, was Remus. I started coughing on my wine. They were holding hands. Remus and Tonks. I know I had told Tonks she should go after Remus, but I didn't expect her to pounce on him the day after. They sat opposite me on the table, and Tonks grinned.

"Hey, Isabel," she said with the biggest smile on her face. Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing her as happy as she was, but I didn't expect it so soon. I sat there in silence, looking between the two of them. Remus seemed uncomfortable with the attention he was getting from Ted, Andromeda, Bill, Fleur and I, but Tonks seemed unfazed by it. She was probably just happy that she finally had Remus on her arm.

"I didn't know you were coming," I told Remus, finally able to get out a few words.

"I didn't know I was coming either until the last minute. Tonks invited me."

"Yeah," Tonks said, "it was a last minute thing." I simply nodded and went back to eating my food. I did not want to make an awkward situation even more awkward.

"Are you okay?" Fred whispered to me. I looked at him, turned on a smile, and nodded. However, I was not alright. I was shocked that Tonks would just throw this on me, without warning. The table went quiet as no one said a word. Everyone continued eating as if nothing happened. It was moments like these that made me glad I was returning to Hogwarts to teach.

"What's that ring on your finger, Isabel?" Ted asked, breaking the silence, pointing towards the shining ring on my ring finger. I sighed, staring at the ring.

"It's my engagement ring."

"Oh," Ted said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't - "

"Don't worry about it." I wasn't going to snap. That wasn't me anymore. I wasn't going to have a breakdown anytime someone mentioned anything related to Sirius. I was stronger than that now. I was able to overcome things. We all went back to eating our meal silently. Sometimes, I could definitely appreciate the peace silence could bring.

* * *

"Isabel, I need to tell you something. Something important." I was sitting in the lounge room, reading a book by the fire when I was interrupted by Remus. Was he just about to leave? He had been here for quite some time.

"Anything, Remus. You know you can tell me anything."

"Tonks kissed me." I completely froze. What? Tonks kissed Remus? So, they hold hands, and now they are kissing? This is a day after I told Tonks she was free to be with him! At least take your time! _'Stop, you know you gave away Remus when you chose Sirius. Stop pretending like Remus belongs to you. He isn't your property. He can do whatever he wants with any woman he wants. You don't have the right to get angry at him over this.' _But I was. I was jealous. It was stupid. I shouldn't be jealous, because I didn't choose him. I cleared my throat and looked to Remus.

"Did you kiss her back?"

"I think so."

"Remus, how can you only think so? It's either yes or - "

"Yes, I kissed her back." What was I supposed to say now? "Isabel, I - "

"There isn't any need to explain yourself, Remus. I'm not your mother, I don't need you to explain why you're holding hands with Tonks or kissing Tonks. You're a grown man, you can make your own decisions."

"Yes, but you - "

"Yes, I do feel something for you. I thought we've been over this," I said, holding my hand to my forehead. "Why do we always have to over complicate things, Remus? We have both lost someone very special to both of us, and we've changed. We've changed so much, sometimes I don't know who I am. However, I have also matured. Looking back on it, when you left me in that forest, telling me I should forget you, I hated you. I absolutely hated you. And when you showed up at Grimmauld Place, I hated you even more. I hated the fact that after all those months you could come back and have the nerve to tell Sirius that he stole me away from you. But then I realised, how much of a man you really were. You sat by and watched me fall even more in love with Sirius, day by day. It was not fair on you, but you look it anyway. I also think we should not have kissed, and we should not have slept together. I was an idiot and I thought that I would not be caught. I am never going to deny my feelings for you again, because that just built up into something bigger. Remus, I do love you, I do. But we've hurt each other too much. If it's meant to be, then we will end up back in each other's arms one day, but for now, we cannot do this anymore. Do you see how happy you're making Tonks? Tell me how you feel about her."

"I like her. She's happy, she's bright and she's bubbly. But I'm a werewolf, Isabel. She deserves someone better than me."

"Don't start with that shit again. She doesn't care what you are. She isn't judgmental. She just wants to be around you," I said. "As much as I am jealous, I realise it's what's best for you, for her and for me." Remus nodded, then left the room without another word. "I'm sorry, Remus," I whispered.

* * *

I opened my eyes to see twenty-one candles on a cake, right in front of me. Andromeda, Ted, Tonks, Remus, Fred, George, Molly, Arthur, Fleur, Bill, Charlie, Ron and Ginny stood around my bedroom, all with huge smiles on their faces. It was the morning of 25 July, 1996, my birthday. I had only wished that four other people were here to share it with me; Father, Mother, Gabrielle and Sirius.

"_Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Isabel, happy birthday to you!_" They all sung in unison. Once they had finished, I took a deep breath, then blew all the candles out in one go. They all applauded, still smiling. I couldn't believe it. They had gone to so much effort for me! I felt like a very lucky witch.

"Thank you so much," I told them. "You've just made my day already, and I've only just woken up."

"It's nothing, Isabel," Tonks said. "Besides, it's time to celebrate! You're twenty-one. That's practically the official age when you become an adult! Now, time to get up! There are a lot of things that we need to start preparing!"

"Like what?" I asked her.

"Like what you're wearing for tonight!" Tonks exclaimed. "Your birthday party."

"I thought it was only small?"

"Well, it's small enough. C'mon, up! We're all having breakfast down in the dining room, then we're all going to the Burrow to start preparations for this evening." I groaned as Tonks grabbed my arms and pulled my up. "Put a smile on that beautiful face of yours, tonight will be brilliant!" I looked around at everybody's smiling, eager faces. Who was I to wreck the evening that they had planned? I gave in, and went along with Tonks. Maybe something good would come from tonight.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry I took so long to update! I know, this was a filler, and I feel awful about giving you a filler after a long wait, but I assure you there's some good stuff coming up soon!**

**To Guest - There are still quite a number of chapters to go, but I've been going through them all and cutting some out that don't really need to be there.**

**We're on 589 reviews, can we get 11 and get to 600? **

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****bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**New on the tumblr: pictures of Isabel, banners, music, and the occasional sneak peek! I am open to taking any questions about the story on the tumblr!**

**Next Chapter -  
**There were people everywhere. People from my Hogwarts days, the Order, my family and friends...just about everyone I knew was here. So much for being small! I was being pulled in so many different directions by so many different people. I was being shouted at to come and do something with one person, and then to go the other way and do something with another. It was all much too overwhelming. I rushed off to find a quiet corner. I sat down on the stone and sighed. This was not how I thought tonight was going to go. I closed my eyes and appreciated the silence, but was interrupted by a rusting bush. I was not alone.


	87. Birthday Celebrations

**Thanks to: LaFlorine, ZabuzasGirl, IcyRose66, HPFan, TheDiva121, Guest & Anon for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Severus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Sisters' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Please Ask for Help by Telekinesis!  
**__**Rave On by Cults  
**__**Teenager by MONA  
**__**Ungodly Hour by The Fray  
**__**Wires by Athlete**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or it's characters.**

* * *

Andromeda, Fleur, Tonks, Ginny and Molly clapped their hands whilst I spun around in my new birthday dress that Fleur had chosen. I couldn't deny it was beautiful. It must have been made from the best materials, because it felt absolutely divine to wear. It was like I was royalty. The dress was a very light pink, almost like it was fading, and it was long. It was a very formal dress. Obviously tonight would be a formal affair. I looked at myself in the mirror. I felt odd wearing this colour. I had almost always worn black. I guess it was just a new way to symbolize the changes in my life. Whatever this dress looked like, it was a pain to put on. The top was a corset, so it had to be laced up, and laced up tightly. I felt like I couldn't breathe at some stages.

"You look gorgeous!" Ginny exclaimed, taking in the dress. "Where did you get it?" She asked Andromeda.

"That is one secret I won't be telling anyone," Andie replied with a sly smirk. "You do look absolutely stunning, Isabel. How does it feel?"

"I feel like I'm worth a million galleons," I told them with a small smile on my face. "And what are you ladies going to be wearing?"

"All will be revealed in due time," Tonks said, placing her hands on my shoulders. "However, now, you will be needing your hair and make up done. Ginny and Fleur have volunteered for that position. So, the rest of us will be going to get ready, and we shall see you at the beginning of the party, yes?" I nodded at them, giving Molly, Andie and Tonks the signal to leave the room. As they left, Ginny and Fleur ran their hands down through my long, black hair.

"It's gone back to being straight," Ginny said. "I preferred it wavier, it suited you much better."

"And zat eez what we are going to do for tonight!" Fleur said, taking out her wand and placing it on my hair. Ginny glared at Fleur when she took over. I had noticed something going on between these two for a while now. Did they not like each other? I brushed it off, I did not have to worry about it today, or ever. It was none of my business. "We are going to put the waving charm on there. Eez that okay, ma sœur?" I nodded. They would have done it without my approval anyway. "This ees nice, just bonding weeth les filles for a change?"

"What did she just say?" Ginny asked. Poor thing, didn't understand Fleur's French.

"She just said it's nice to bond with the girls for a change. But oui, ma soeur, it's fun. Something that I don't really get to do a lot of."

"What do you mean, you live with Andromeda and Tonks," Ginny said, with a concerned look on her face.

"Oh, don't worry, Ginny. It's okay. Tonks is just always working and Andromeda is out shopping, or out with other friends, or just doing something. I spend enough time with them, I was talking about you girls. I need to be spending more time with you!" I could feel Tonks and Ginny running their wands down the length of my hair. It was odd, it felt like it was getting lighter and lighter by the minute. They weren't cutting it off - I would have known if they were. Such an interesting charm.

"Maybe things will change now that you're older. Maybe you'll have more time to spend with us," Ginny said.

"Perhaps," I told her. I knew I wouldn't. I was always too busy. I was either dealing with other people's dramas or at Hogwarts, teaching. I had no spare time. I shook off these thoughts. I didn't have to look into the future and be negative. All I had to think about was tonight and how much of a good time I was going to have.

* * *

I walked down the stairs into the kitchen of the Burrow, where I was told to stay put until I was collected. I could hear the noise from outside and see the lights. I had a feeling that this party was going to be bigger than Tonks let on. I paced around the kitchen, my light pink dress hitting the floor delicately. I was nervous. This would be my first public appearance since Sirius' memorial...and that did not go so well. I had to show everyone that I was on track, and that I wasn't in need of anyone's help. I needed to show everyone that I was the independent twenty-one year old I was supposed to be. The front door opened, and then shut, and around the corner came Tonks and Molly.

"Tonks, how many people are outside?" I asked, a tone of concern in my voice.

"Maybe the word small wasn't the best to use," she replied.

"Tonks..."

"Isabel, relax. Tonight will be great. It'll be fun." I breathed in deeply, the breathed out. I would just have to trust Tonks' judgement. "Now, if you'll come with me." She held out her arm, and I linked mine in hers. She lead me out the door, down the steps and onto a blue carpet, leading to a huge tent. Molly flicked her wands, and the silver curtains at the entrance to the tent parted down the middle. Tonks lead me down the carpet and through the entrance, and waiting there, was at least one hundred people.

* * *

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They all shouted at once. I was shocked. How could there be so many people here? Did I know this many people. I looked to my left, where there were tables and tables of food that Molly had obviously cooked up. To my right, a table full of wrapped gifts. Tonks brought me closer to the crowd. There were only a number of faces I could make out. Fleur, Ginny, Andromeda, Remus, Ted, Ron, Hermione, Charlie, Bill, Fred, George, Arthur, Minerva, Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge, Hagrid, Mad Eye, Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Flitwick, Pormona, Poppy and Oliver Wood. The rest, I didn't pay attention to.

"You look beautiful," Remus said, walking up to me when everyone had gone back to doing what they were doing before I walked in.

"Thank you. It was all the work of Andie, Tonks, Fleur, Molly and Ginny. I did none of this," I laughed. "It's the first time I've ever really felt like a princess."

"Well, you look like a princess, and they did a fine job on you," Remus told me, smiling. "Enjoy your night, Princess." Remus bowed his head and backed away, grinning at me. I giggled as I watched him back away from me. He was definitely one of a kind; a very special man. I looked around me and didn't know where to begin. Did I open some gifts? Eat some food? Talk to people? Who would I talk to first? All of this was becoming very confusing for me.

"Hey, Birthday Girl!" Someone grabbed my waist, making me jump. I turned around to see Charlie, with a huge grin on his face. I threw my arms around him and squealed. He held me tightly and rocked me from side to side.

"I'm so happy to see you!" I exclaimed.

"Not as happy as I am to see you!" He let go, took my hand, then twirled me around. "I bet you don't even know how stunning you look this evening. Pink definitely suits you."

"I do prefer my original black," I told him. "But for this one night, pink will do. Now, where have you been? It's been over a month since I saw you last."

"Romania. Working with the dragons as usual," he replied. He lowered his head and sighed. "I have to apologise to you. I'm so sorry for not being there for you in such a difficult time. My priorities were wrong. Instead of being here for you I was away, more interested in dragons and - "

"Charles Weasley, stop. Please." He looked back up at me with a smile. "It was a difficult time, yes, but I had many people supporting me. You had business to attend to. And look at me, I'm fine. I've come out of this really well. I don't want you feeling bad because you weren't there for me. Besides, you're here now! You're here to celebrate my birthday, and that alone makes me feel very special." I hugged Charlie again and smiled. "Thank you for being here."

"You know I would never miss out on your birthday," he told me. He paused and looked over my shoulder. I turned around to see what he was staring at. Bill and Fleur stood in the corner, giggling, holding hands and feeding each other food. It was absolutely adorable. They were like a teenage couple in love. I was so happy that Fleur had found someone like Bill. I knew Bill would treat her the way I wanted her to be treated. She was safe with him. "So, what's going to happen between those two?" I turned back to face Charlie and shrugged my shoulders.

"They're in love. Perhaps they'll get married in the future? Maybe they won't? I've learned that when you're in love with someone, all you can do is enjoy your time with them."

"I hope they do get married," Charlie said. "I know Mum and Ginny aren't keen on it - "

"Wait, stop, stop, stop," I said, holding my hand out. "They don't like Fleur?"

"I thought you knew?" I shook my head in shock. They didn't even know Fleur, how could they not like her? "They think she is pompous. The complete opposite of you they say."

"That's absurd," I told him.

"Tell me about it," Charlie said, raising his eyebrows. "Bill gets angry about it from time to time, telling them it's unfair. He just wants her to be accepted like you are, and like Tonks is." I nodded, it made sense. I could understand how Bill was feeling. I was easily accepted by the Weasley family, as was Tonks, but they cannot do the same for Fleur? It hurt my feelings to think she was being excluded like that. I sighed, turning back to look at Fleur and Bill. They were so perfect together. Why could Molly not see that?

* * *

There were people everywhere. People from my Hogwarts days, the Order, my family and friends...just about everyone I knew was here. I was being pulled in so many different directions by so many different people. I was being shouted at to come and do something with one person, and then to go the other way and do something with another. It was all much too overwhelming. I rushed off to find a quiet corner. I sat down on the stone and sighed. This was not how I thought tonight was going to go. I closed my eyes and appreciated the silence, but was interrupted by a rusting bush. I was not alone. I took out my wand. It had become a reflex for me to pull out my wand whenever I felt threatened.

"Who's there?" I whispered. There was no reply, just a rustling of the bushes again. "I know someone is there, now come out before I hex you out of there." No reply. Silence. Suddenly, I felt two hands on my shoulders. I jumped up and grabbed my throat to stop myself from screaming. Standing there, laughing his head off, was Fred.

"Fred!" I groaned. "Why would you do that?" I hit him lightly on the arm and shook my head. "You scared me! Don't do that!" Fred laughed, laughed and laughed some more. I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at him. I didn't know why he found it so hilarious. Then I remembered, he found everything hilarious. He was a comedian, a prankster if you will.

"You make me laugh," he said, sitting next to me. "Quite a birthday bash, isn't it?"

"Tonks told me it was only going to be small," I told him. "She's quite the liar."

"Hey, the more presents the better!" He said with a grin. I don't know what it was about Fred. There was just something about him that made me feel calm whenever I was around him. No one else could do this for me. Fred was most of the reason that I had pulled through from my grief. He had been so good to me. I didn't deserve someone as wonderful as him to put up with me through everything. I guess I was just lucky.

"You look very smart in that suit of yours," I said, taking in the suit that he was wearing. I had never seen him so well dressed. His hair was also very neat. He was almost sexy. _'Now your thinking of him as sexy, Isabel. Fred Weasley. Sexy.' _I shut my eyes, trying to brush those thoughts away. Fred was only a friend, and he will forever remain just a friend.

"Are you okay?" Fred asked. I opened my eyes to see him staring at me. I laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just in my own little world for a moment there."

"Well, time to snap out of it, because I want to give you your birthday present!" Fred stood up and held out his hand. I took it and stood up carefully, wanting to keep my dress looking perfect.

"You didn't have to get me anything," I told him.

"Ah, come on. I promise, this birthday present will beat out any other birthday present anyone else got for you. You can count on that." Fred was really talking up this present. I hoped it wasn't a diamond necklace, or ring, or earrings, or anything expensive that could be mistaken for a present a husband would give to his wife. I would have to refuse it. _'No, the one thing you have to do is stop thinking Fred wants to marry you tomorrow. So he has a crush? Maybe it'll pass? Maybe he doesn't have a crush. Stop caring about his feelings for you and enjoy your birthday.' _My head made all the sense in the world. Fred lead me into the middle of the tent, where I was joined by Fleur, and Fred was joined by George. We were also surrounded by the rest of the Weasley family, Andromeda, Tonks, Ted, Remus, Oliver Wood and Minerva.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"You'll see," she replied with a smile.

"Close your eyes, Isabel," Fred told me. I closed my eyes hesitantly. There were so many people watching. I was becoming increasingly nervous. "After the count of three, open your eyes, okay?" I nodded at Fred's voice. I would just have to go along with it. "One, two...three." I opened my eyes, and standing in front of me, was Gabrielle.

"Gabrielle!" I exclaimed, pulling her into my arms and holding her tightly. I began to cry whilst I kissed her on the head and held her close to me. "Oh mon Dieu! I cannot believe you're here!" I rocked her back and forth, as I felt her tears wet my bear shoulder. "I have missed you so, so much, my Gabrielle. Oh mon Dieu! Merci, merci, merci!" We were soon joined by Fleur, who put her arms around both of us. We were reunited once again. It was true. Blood was thicker than anything else.

"Joyeux Anniversaire," Gabrielle whispered to me. "I'm sorry, I forgot your gift."

"You are the greatest gift anyone could ever give me, Gabrielle." I kissed her on the head three more times before standing up. I turned to Fred, who was standing there, watching us with the biggest smile I had ever seen. "Did you do this?" I asked.

"It was my idea. I had a little help from George, Bill and Fleur though," Fred told me. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him tightly.

"Thank you so much," I whispered to him. "No one has ever done something like this for me before." I kissed him on the cheek and let go of him. "Thank you."

"Stop thanking me and go enjoy the company of your little sister."

* * *

Gabrielle and I held hands and danced around the dance floor of the tent. She laughed as I twirled her around. How I had missed her sweet laugh. She was just this small ball of energy that made me instantly smile whenever I saw her. She was special. The music playing was joyful and bright, it reflected my mood right now. After all these troubles that I had been through, I had come out the other end smiling and perhaps better than I was before. I was liking the new me. Some people say you should never change, but this new me was better and happier than I had ever been. I knew Sirius would be proud of me.

"Are you having a good birthday?" Gabrielle asked me. I noticed how much her English had improved since I last saw her. Mother had been teaching her very well.

"I'm having a wonderful birthday, and it's been even better because you're here!"

"I miss you, Isabel." It broke my heart to hear her words. I could only imagine how lonely she would be back in France. With Mother and Louis fighting all the time and with Fleur not being home, she would probably be stuck in her room unless she was at Beauxbatons. I felt guilty. It wasn't fair that I got to come to Hogwarts when I was eleven and got away from France.

"Gabrielle, I have an idea. You're at Beauxbatons now, oui?

"Oui," Gabrielle told me, nodding.

"If I talk to Mother, we could talk about you possibly coming to Hogwarts when you are eleven. So, two years from now. Would you like that?" Gabrielle's eyes lit up, and she beamed up at me, nodding eagerly.

"Oui, Isabel! Oui! I would like nothing more!" I laughed and kissed her head. She was so precious.

"I will talk to Mother then, and see from there. I just hate that you're all alone in France without us. The closer to Fleur and I you are, the better." The song finished, and Gabrielle let go of my hands.

"I'm going to get some food and talk to George. He's funny." She grinned and skipped away from me. I still couldn't believe that she was here, and now I wanted nothing more then for her to come over to England and live with Fleur or myself. She belonged here with us, her family, her sisters. The two people that cared more for her safety than anyone else in the world. I sighed, knowing it was going to be hard, beating Louis at bringing Gabrielle over, but I was up for the challenge. She needed to be with people that care for her.

When I brought my thoughts back to the real world, I noticed that the noise had died down. It wasn't completely silent. The music was still playing, and people were still talking, however, it was not as loud as before. I turned around to my left, and to my right, to see what was happening, It was not until I looked to the entrance to the tent that I saw the reason for the noise level dying down.

"Father," I breathed out. He stood there, in his best black robes, a gift in his hands. I had not seen him since just after Sirius' death, and that did not end so well. I walked over slowly towards my father, feeling everyone's eyes focus on us. I stopped when I reached him.

"Happy twenty-first," he told me without much emotion, passing me the gift. I gave the gift to Minerva, who was standing next to me, then put my arms around Father. I knew he wouldn't appreciate the public display of father-daughter affection, but I did not care. I missed Father. I wanted him to know that no matter what, I loved him very much. Nothing had changed. I was still the same girl that needed her Daddy when I arrived on his doorstep ten years ago. Father coughed, and I let go, knowing it was the symbol to step back.

"I'm very happy that you're here," I told Father.

"I wouldn't be a very good father if I did not come to my own daughter's twenty-first birthday, would I?" I smiled. Just knowing he was here and he cared made my night infinitely better. "I heard that the Headmaster and Minerva let you come back to teach alongside me, and you were not happy about it."

"I just wanted a chance to shine on my own."

"Just one year, Isabel, that's all it is," Father said. "And you are already shining on your own."

"Look at you, being all paternal," I laughed.

"And you also look beautiful this evening," Father told me. "It's common for father's to say it to their daughter's because they have to, but I truly mean it. You look stunning." I hugged my father quickly again. Everything was absolutely perfect. My life was truly coming back together.

* * *

"_Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Isabel, Happy Birthday to you_," the party guests sung whilst I stood next to the birthday cake with Tonks, a glass of elf made wine in my hand. My night had been absolutely fantastic. It had been perfect. Father and Gabrielle were just the icing on the very big cake. Tonks tapped a spoon onto her glass and held it in the air.

"Thank you all for coming. I'd like to make a toast to my beautiful best friend, the birthday girl. You've been through some very tough times, but here you are, twenty-one years old, and growing even more amazing by the day. I know, from experience, that you can be a pain in the arse sometimes, and I also know that we've had our fair share of ups and downs, but we're best friends, it's to be expected. Here's to twenty-one years of an incredible human being. To Isabel."

"To Isabel," the guests repeated, holding their glasses in the air.

"Thank you, Tonks," I said softly, hugging her. "This night has been perfect."

"You deserved nothing less. Now, come along. It's time to dance with your best friend." She pulled me out onto the dance floor and grinned.

"With you?" I asked.

"No, your other best friend." She smiled and moved out of the way. Suddenly, someone grabbed my right hand from behind, then twirled me around. I giggled when I realised it was Remus. Like I said, this night was truly perfect.

* * *

The guests had left, and it was time for me to get to sleep. My feet were in such bad shape, as I had spent the night being forced to dance with all sorts of different people, all while standing in very high heels. That was the downside of my outfit tonight, the heels were not so friendly to my feet. I was walking very slowly towards the main house at the Burrow, as I could not take them off. My corset was too tight to bend over.

"Needing help?" Seconds later I was scooped up into someone's arms. Fred.

"Whoa, déjà vu," I laughed. "Thank you. Although, seriously, how many times have we been in this situation."

"Too many," Fred replied with a smile. We reached the front door, and he nodded at me to open it. I opened it, and he continued to carry me up the stairs.

"Where's George?"

"Helping Fleur with Gabrielle. Gabrielle's really taken a shining to him. Don't know why, he's an ugly mutt," Fred laughed. I raised my eyebrows.

"What does that say about you then?" I asked.

"I've got the looks in the family," he replied. I laughed. Fred was hilarious, a trait I wished I had. He carried me into Percy's old room, where I would be staying for the night. He placed me down on the bed. I sighed and kicked off my heels. I then realised the awkward situation I was in. I would not be able to take off my dress without help. Tonks, Andromeda, Ginny and Molly were all cleaning up outside, and all the other female party guests had left. I had no choice. I stood up and walked over to the mirror, then turned to Fred.

"I wonder, could you undo my corset strings?" Fred's face was full of shock, but he brushed it off, walked over to me and stood behind me. He brushed my hair out of the way and over my shoulder, ever so gently. His touch was as light and as delicate as a feather. He slowly undid the top knot of my corset. I stared at him through the mirror. He was so determined to be gentle with me, and so determined to do it job properly. I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck, and it was so silent that all I could hear was the noise of the wind outside. The intimacy of this moment was something I had never experienced. My heart raced every time I felt him touch my skin. Why was I reacting like this? It had been just over a month since Sirius had died! As soon as Fred touched my shoulder again, I forgot all of those thoughts. I could only focus on his hands that occasionally brushed onto my bare skin. Whenever that happened, it felt like he was touching every nerve in my body. No one had ever made me feel that way. Not Remus, not Sirius...no one. The last string was undone, and I had to hold the top of my dress up so that it would not fall down in front of him. I turned slowly to face him, and I could do nothing but stare at him. There were no noises, just us breathing and the wind outside. He reached out and brushed a few strands of hair away from my face, then put his hand to my cheek. I tilted my head towards his hand, and continued to stare up at him.

"Thank you," I said softly.

"Goodnight, Isabel." He nodded his head once before leaving the room. As soon as the door shut to the room, I fell to back on the bed behind me. It was so wrong for me to let him touch me in that way. My head fell in my hands, and I shook my head. As much as I wanted to deny that it didn't feel right, it did. What was wrong with me?

* * *

**A/N: Well, well, what a moment at the end there. That was probably the most intimate moment I have ever written of the whole story. Do you think that's the start of a little something between Isabel and Fred? Or do you think she'll tell him no and move on to someone else? Charlie? Or will she forever be stuck on Remus? Or forever stuck on Sirius? What are your thoughts?**

**That's the longest chapter I've written for a while. Hope you enjoyed it!**

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**I was looking at the traffic stats on my story just before uploading this chapter, and I found it so amazing seeing how many different countries my readers are from. To give you an idea, these are the countries that came up: United States, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, France, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Brazil, India, Denmark, Spain, Philippines, Iceland, Chile, Oman, Sweden, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Israel, Indonesia, Singapore, Luxembourg, Thailand, Malaysia, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Argentina, Algeria and Hong Kong. **

**I was just amazed. I can't believe that I have readers from those countries! I was just so surprised.**

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**Next Chapter:  
**"Are you ready to go?" Fred asked. I smiled and nodded. Tonight was going to be great for me. I needed to get out and spend time with the right people. Fred and George, particularly Fred, had been so good to me ever since Sirius' death. They had been very patient with me. There was a point in time that I wasn't proud of, and Fred was the one that pulled me out of that. Without Fred, I fear that I would still be how I was then. I walked down the stairs to the front door with Fred. Waiting there was Andromeda and George.

"Don't you look smashing!" George said, taking in my new dress. "Fair cry from the original dresses you used to wear."

"Boys, look after her for me," Andromeda said.

"Andie, I'm a grown woman. I can handle myself," I told her, nodding. "I won't play up tonight, I promise."

"Regardless - " Andie started to say before she was cut off by Fred.

"We'll take very good care of her, Andromeda. We promise. Don't we Georgie?"

"Of course, Freddie."


	88. Engagements in War

**Thanks to: Tessa, brian, Guest, TheDiva121, Guest, HPFan and LaFlorine for your reviews. (Where have all my reviewers gone?)**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**The Heart of Life by John Mayer  
**__**Parade by Garbage  
**__**Enjoy the Silence by Anberlin**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of it's characters.**

* * *

It had been two days since my birthday party and the little incident between Fred and I. We hadn't spoken about it at all. I just brushed it off as if it were nothing the next day. I couldn't let things like that hold me down anymore. Those little incidents had led to my downfall in the first place. I had to be strong. I was sitting in the kitchen reading the _Daily Prophet_, sipping my tea. My normality was hard to believe, really. I had become quite resilient.

"Good morning." I put down the wizarding paper to see Ted sit opposite me on the table.

"Morning. Care for some tea?" I asked, gesturing towards the teapot and empty teacups.

"Please," he answered with a nod. I reached over and slowly poured the hot tea into the teacup. I breathed in through my nose to take in the smell of the tea. There was nothing better in the morning. I passed Ted the teacup and the _Daily Prophet_. I thought he'd be a whole lot more interested in what was happening than I was. Besides, I was in the Order. There was hardly anything in that paper that I didn't know already. "You're up early," Ted told me, picking up his teacup.

"Practicing for when I return to Hogwarts," I replied with a quiet laugh. "No, truth is, I'm just enjoying my mornings. Yesterday I woke up and went for a walk through the fields outside. The fresh air is so stimulating. I sat there for an hour, just taking in how peaceful it was." I paused and looked into my teacup. I don't know what I was searching for. Maybe my reflection? Because I knew something had changed within me, and this was something changing for the better. I looked back up at Ted and smiled. "I had forgotten that when you are surrounded by peace, how peaceful you can become yourself."

"When did you become so wise?" Ted asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I laughed and shrugged. Whenever I was around Ted I felt happy. He was just a joyful man that did not have one bad bone in his body - the complete opposite of Mother's poor excuse for a husband. Ted just radiated happiness. Wherever he walked, he walked with glee. He never failed to have a spring in his step. "So, what are your plans for today."

"She's being kidnapped!" I turned around to see Tonks skipping into the kitchen.

"By whom?"

"You'll see! But you need to wear something pretty," Tonks said, pouring herself a cup of tea and placing herself down next to me. "Don't you worry, I can help you with that," she added. Tonks had me worried. Who was she giving me to and why? "Oh, stop that eye thing you do!"

"What eye thing?" I questioned. I looked to Ted. "What eye thing is she talking about?"

"Don't bring me into this!" Ted replied, chuckling and raising his newspaper in front of his face. I turned back to Tonks and frowned at her.

"What eye thing?"

"Oh never mind," she giggled, standing up. "Lovely tea. Now, if you'll excuse me," she changed her hair from lilac to royal blue. "I should be getting ready for work!" Tonks skipped out of the kitchen, the same way she entered. I grabbed the _Daily Prophet _off Ted and stared at him intently.

"What eye thing is she speaking about?"

"Like I said, don't bring me into this sweetheart," he said, patting me on the hand. He gave me a curt nod, as if to dismiss me. I groaned, rose from my chair and left the kitchen. Bloody Nymphadora...

* * *

_Dearest Isabel,_

_I know, I said I had work, but I also promised I would help you!_

_I'm still not telling you where you're going and who with,_

_but there is a selection of brilliant dresses on your bed, one of which you will HAVE to wear._

_I will know if you do not wear one!_

_Have a good time tonight._

_Tonks._

_P.S. They're all new, in case your wondering, free for you to keep. Wait, one of them is mine. If you choose that one - i'll kill you if you destroy it._

"Tonks," I moaned, staring down at the five dresses sitting on my bed. "What have you done?" I picked up the first one and noted how short it was. "Is she crazy, I am not wearing this!" Then, I realised, to my dismay, every dress on the bed was just as short. I banged my head on the wall behind. Why would I wear any of these dresses? They were what all the witches that would go out drinking and partying would wear. That wasn't me.

I looked into the mirror, still holding the dress. I was wrong. It was me.

These witches were my age. They were the normal ones. I was the strange one who decided to go straight into a job after I had finished my education at Hogwarts. I was the one who was engaged to be married a month before I turned twenty-one. I never got to live the life they're living. I had brushed it aside for more serious matters. Maybe it was a mistake to brush that stage in my life aside? Perhaps I was the strange one, and they were the normal ones? I sat down on the bed silently as this set in. I had missed so much. _'All because of your fascination with those two older men that did nothing but make you grow up too quickly.' _I did not regret any second spent with Remus or Sirius, but it was true. I did grow up quickly, to keep up with them. A tear fell onto my cheek. I breathed in deeply and shut my eyes, composing myself.

"There is no need to cry," I whispered to myself. "Don't cry." I would simply have to make up lost time tonight. I grabbed a small, black dress from the bed. It was time to do what I should have been doing for the past few years. Enjoying the little things.

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock._

The sound of the door startled me as I twisted and turned in the mirror, attempting to get a grip on the form fitting, very short black dress I had chosen to wear. This wasn't me! I was too conservative to wear this!

_Knock, knock, knock_

The person was becoming impatient, knocking louder and louder.

"Come in!" I shouted. The door creaked open, and in the mirror, I could see Fred hesitantly step into the room.

"Hello," I said with a small smile. "So you are the mystery stranger that Tonks has sent to save me?" Fred did not reply. His eyes were fixed on my body. I took this time to take in what he was wearing. It was a toned down version of the suit he was wearing last week at my birthday. It suited him. After I had enough looking, I cleared my throat and he jumped to attention, shaking his head. I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Oh, er, yeah. Well, I'm one of two mystery strangers that Tonks had sent for, however, the second one should not be too hard to guess considering I am a twin." A night with Fred and George. I did not know whether to be excited, or a little bit frightened. They were definitely a handful. "Can I take this chance to say, this new look is...interesting."

I suppressed a giggle, staring down at my dress. "Well, don't expect it to be a permanent thing."

"I do prefer what you usually wear, it's just this surprised me."

"You think it surprised you." I muttered under my breath. I shook my negative thoughts off and grinned at Fred.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked. I smiled and nodded in reply. I decided I was going to be positive about this evening. It was going to be great for me, and the most important part of it is that I was spending it with people who cared for my wellbeing. Fred and George, particularly Fred, was very patient with me throughout this whole rough patch. There was a point in my life that I wasn't proud of, and Fred was the one that pulled me out of that. Without Fred, I fear that I would probably still be the resident drunk and out of control. Fred led me out of the room and shut the door behind us. I walked down the stairs and to the front door with Fred. Waiting there was Andromeda and George.

"Don't you look smashing!" George said, taking in my new dress. It was more of a one second glance compared to the way Fred goggled at it...and me. "Fair cry from the original dresses you used to wear." I beamed and hugged George tightly.

"It's good to see you," I told him.

"Come on, it's only been a week."

"Well, it's been a week to long, hasn't it?" I told him.

"Boys, look after her for me," Andromeda said, interrupting my exchange with George.

"Andie, I'm a grown woman. I can handle myself," I told her, nodding. I reached out to hold her hands. "I won't play up tonight, I promise. You need to trust that I will be okay. I know you're worried about me, but I promise there is no need to be." Andromeda sighed and squeezed my hands.

"I do trust you, however - " Andie started to say before she was cut off by Fred.

"We'll take very good care of her, Andromeda. We promise. Don't we Georgie?"

"Of course, Freddie." I looked at Andie's expression. It was obvious she was split on the matter. On one hand, I had two grown men in charge of my protection. On the other hand, it was Fred and George. That was self explanatory. Andie squeezed my hands again, then let go and put her arms around me. It was amazing how I felt so connected to her. It was like I was truly her daughter. Andie kissed my head three times before letting go.

"Boys, if you don't bring her back in one piece there will be consequences!" Andromeda declared. George shifted his tie nervously at Andie's words, but Fred seemed unfazed by them. Why would he be? He was used to taking care of me.

* * *

Just outside the entrance to Diagon Alley, was a huge rubbish bin. I turned to Fred and George and crossed my arms. Why were we standing in front of a rubbish bin?

"That's the entrance to our spot," Fred told me. I looked at the rubbish bin, then looked back at Fred.

"I am not getting in that bin."

"Oh, Isabel, there's nothing in there," Fred said.

"Apart from spiders and moldy left overs of yesterday's lunch at Gringotts!" George said, taking hold of my shoulders and laughing. I released myself from his grip and huffed. Why did I agree to coming out with these two? Huge mistake. By the end of the night I'd either be blind drunk, or having a mental breakdown. I felt for Molly. The poor woman had to raise them both...at the same time.

"I'll go in on one condition," I told them sternly, holding up my index finger. "What's in the bin?"

"It's an entrance - " Fred started.

"To the biggest wizard nightclub there ever was to exist," George finished.

"Are you two insane!" I shouted. "We have just entered a war and you want to go into a nightclub? Use your common sense! There could be Death Eaters in there! It's not safe for you, and it's not safe for me. Now, we are all going home and you can maybe think about what idiot's you two are." I started to walk off, but was stopped when one of the twins grabbed my arm.

"Isabel," Fred said. "I would never bring you to a place that wasn't safe for you. Neither was Fred. We promise that it's safe."

"Besides," George interrupted, placing himself between Fred and I. "You've already come this far. There would be no point going home now. May as well enjoy your night out." I turned towards the bin, then back at Fred and George.

"Don't make me regret this."

* * *

Whilst George was out dancing with a girl that started randomly talking to him while he was getting drinks for Fred and I, Fred sat next to me and put his arm around me, somewhat protectively. I was wondering why he was so protective of me. Maybe it was because of this stupid little dress I was wearing. I could feel the stares once I walked into this place. Sure, it was dark and loud, but I could feel them. Perhaps it was also because Fred had been there all the way through my behaviour over the past couple of weeks and he was worried. He didn't have to, though. It wasn't like I was going to go off the rails, or let myself be picked up by some bloke I didn't know. I was smart enough for that. _'Do you blame him, though? He's the one that was looking after you when you went off the rails. He just wants to make sure it doesn't happen again.'_

"Are you enjoying your evening?" Fred asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I am. It's good to be out of the house for a change," I replied, nodding and looking around at the huge venue. I couldn't tell if I was lying or telling the truth. Was I really enjoying it? "Where did you find this place?" I questioned, attempting to deflect the conversation away from me. It was best to keep the me-talk to a minimum this evening. I picked up my firewhiskey that was sitting on the table and took a few sips.

"Fred and I come here all the time. It's practically the biggest Wizard party ever." I giggled softly hearing Fred say those words. They just sounded completely strange coming from someone such as him. "Georgie usually comes to pick up some chicks." I raised my eyebrows, taking another sip of my firewhiskey.

"And you?"

"There's this one girl," Fred said shyly. It was sweet to see that he had a crush on someone. I wondered who it was. Perhaps one of the girls from Hogwarts? I heard he was keen on Angelina Johnson at one point. "But she's only ever been here once."

"Oh, that's probably not helpful. Does she know how you feel?" I asked, swirling the firewhiskey in my glass around at the same time.

"No, I don't think so."

"Why don't you tell her? I'm sure that her knowing would be better than you having to keep it all bottled up. I've been through the bottling up stage, trust me, it's not fun. It's horrible. And then it all came bursting out and it just ruined absolutely everything." I sighed, thinking back to the moment I told Remus I loved him, and then the moment Sirius found out that we had slept together. One of my biggest regrets was acting like a child in this situation and thinking that I wouldn't be caught.

"Who?"

"Remus," I told him. "However, that is a story for a much different time. Now, tell me, why aren't you going to tell this girl?"

"Because the timing isn't right." I could not help but laugh at Fred.

"Oh, Fred, the timing is never right."

"No, trust me, the timing is definitely not right."

"Well, I - " I paused, staring over at behind the George. A man was standing in the very corner of the room, his wand in his hand. His robes were black and detailed, and in his other hand...a mask. A mask that looked so familiar...it was frightening. It then dawned on me. What I had said to Fred and George in the first place about being here...I was right. We shouldn't have come.

"Fred," I whispered, tearing my eyes away from the Death Eater in the corner. How did no one notice he was there? "We need to go. Now."

"What?" He said. I hit him on the arm.

"Be quiet. You get George and we leave. There's a Death Eater over there, we need to go, now." Fred's eyes widened, and it was like he went into a state of shock for a few moments, before he gathered himself, rose from his seat calmly, and strolled casually over towards his twin brother. I saw him whisper into George's ear. George nodded along to what he was saying, then tore himself away from the clingy girl he was dancing with. I rose from my seat and walked towards the exit with the twins as normally as we could. Once we were outside, we immediately apparated back to the Tonks house.

* * *

"You two, as soon as you return home, tell your father of what happened there. He'll be able to pass that information onto Kingsley, Mad-Eye and Dumbledore," I told Fred and George on the front doorstep of my new home.

"What would a Death Eater be doing at a wizard nightclub?" George asked, seemingly

"Searching for people to recruit, maybe? I don't know. All I know is that as Weasley's, and as a Snape, we were in danger with him around, and let's be thankful we got out of there in one piece. Who knows what could be going on in there right now," I told them. I sighed and hugged both of them briefly. "I know you two tried to make me have a good time, and I appreciate your efforts. So thank you. I'm sorry it didn't exactly go to plan. Goodnight, Fred. Goodnight, George." I smiled at them both before walking inside.

* * *

"Fleur?" I said as I shut the door. Sitting with Andromeda in the lounge room was Fleur. They were both happily chatting away, drinking some sort of very expensive looking wine. I walked in and sat down on the seat beside Andromeda, opposite Fleur. "What's going on?" It was very peculiar for Fleur to be here with Andie, even more peculiar for her to be here at this time of night.

"You're home early," Andie said, surprised that I had returned.

"Long story. Now, tell me, what's happening!"

"Fleur has some very exciting news."

"What would this exciting news be?" I asked Fleur, turning to look at her. She held up her left hand to reveal a small silver ring. It was beautiful. Simple and small. I had always thought that Fleur was at her most stunning when she wore simple clothing and jewelry. It then dawned on me. A ring. Small silver ring. News.

"Bill and I, we are getting married!" Fleur exclaimed. I squealed and ran over to my sister, throwing my arms around her.

"Félicitations, sœur! I am so happy for you and Bill!" Fleur and I laughed, continuing our embrace. I beamed over my little sister's shoulder. I was truly happy for her. Everyone deserved to find their true love, and I was even happier that it was Bill. I knew he would treat her just the way that she needed to be treated - with love and care. "Now! Wedding preparations! When do we start?" I asked, letting go of her. Fleur, Andromeda and I all laughed at my eagerness to begin with wedding plans. What could I say? I was very desperate to get the matron of honour spot.

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter with a bit of happiness and a bit of drama mixed in. I think Isabel finally deserves some brightness in her life!**

**Where have all my reviewers gone? The numbers are severely down and it makes me sad. I know people are reading this, I can see the traffic stats for the story. Please, please, please, review!**

**Tumblr:  
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**Next Chapter:  
**"Harry," I breathed out. Seeing him was a hard hit to my system. Harry was the biggest reminder of Sirius. He was Sirius' family. Sirius was like his uncle, even his father. Their relationship was close, and it was beautiful. I always loved seeing them around each other. They brought out the best in each other. Sirius was always better and happier after Harry had visited or at least talked to him. I walked up to him and sighed. This was going to be difficult, but we had to talk. "How are you, Harry?"


	89. Filthy Blood Traitor

**Thanks to: TheDiva121, LaFlorine, IcyRose66 (times 2), bookworm42x (times 2), HPFan and the newest reviewer, ariapyrasyria (times 3), for your reviews.**

**Urgent Note: Pen name change!**

_**Songs Used:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Turn to Stone by Ingrid Michaelson  
Gilgamesh by Gypsy & the Cat**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

July 31, 1996. Today was the day I would officially return to Hogwarts to take up my duties as a teacher. I stared at my luggage. Three trunks and one bag sat on my bedroom floor, full of my belongings. I felt slightly relieved that I would be returning to Hogwarts. A scheduled, routined life was what I needed right now. Besides, I enjoyed teaching. I enjoyed sharing my knowledge with others. It made me feel like I had some sort of purpose. There was a soft knock at my door, then a creak to signal the door was being opened. I looked up at Andromeda, who was entering my bedroom. She took in the sight of my room - it wasn't exactly the cleanest place in the world. I was a messy packer.

"So, all ready to return?" Andromeda asked, sitting herself down next to me.

"I think it will be beneficial for me, returning there so soon," I told her. It didn't sound like I was attempting to convince Andie, though. It sounded like I was trying to convince myself. I had been adamant that this was good for me, yet some part of me was skeptical. I could never win with my emotions, it was ridiculous.

"I just wanted to wish you good luck," Andie said, pulling me into a tight embrace. She stroked my hair and kissed my head, like a protective mother, sending her daughter out into the big bad world would. I considered Andromeda as my second mother. My real mother was never around, and Andie had willingly stepped into that role. I couldn't be anything but thankful with what she had done for me, especially over the last month. She didn't have to take me into her home and help me recover, but she did. I was a burden on everyone, but she took me in without a fuss. I was incredibly lucky to have someone that cared for me in such a way. Andromeda patted my back twice before letting me go.

"Thank you," I told her, nodding. "I could never have recovered the way I did without your help."

"Do not mention it, Isabel. You are my family now. You are like my daughter. I would never pass up an opportunity to help you," she replied. "Speaking of helping." She held out her wand and waved it. Moments later, my trunks and my bag had disappeared. "They'll be waiting for you at Hogwarts!"

"How did you do that without saying anything?" I asked her, in astonishment. "I always have to say the incantation with those types of spells!"

"Well, my dear, it's a secret I shall share with you one day. Now, it's time to go!" She lead me out of my room and down the stairs, where Ted was waiting for me.

"Goodbye, sweetheart!" Ted said, very loudly. He hugged me briefly, but nevertheless, it was a warm hug as always. "Enjoy your time back at Hogwarts, and make sure you keep those children in line!"

"Of course," I replied with a small smile. I then realised my best friend was not here to see me go. "Where's Tonks?"

"No idea. She's been acting strangely for the past few days. I've only seen her twice since he night you went out with Fred and George, and she looked absolutely horrible and miserable," Andie replied, her expression full of concern for her daughter. "I tried talking to her and asking what was wrong, but it didn't work. She ignored me, told me I wouldn't understand. I hoped you'd be able to talk to her, but obviously you hadn't seen her in a while."

"I thought she was at work?" I sighed. Now I wished I didn't have to leave today. I couldn't contain my worry about Tonks. Why had she become like this so suddenly? I'm sure if it was serious, Tonks would tell me. She's probably just tired over work. She'd be okay. "Well, I guess I'll see you at Christmas. Stay safe." I put my wand in my wand pocket and opened the door. It was a cloudy day, but not even the grey skies could damper my spirits. I shut the door behind me and breathed in the fresh air. It was beautiful. I closed my eyes, focused on the image of Hogsmeade, then disapparated.

* * *

As the carriage came closer and closer towards the entrance of Hogwarts, I remembered the last time I was here, fired from my job and humiliated in front of everyone. I had missed the castle so much. It was truly home for me. I took in the beautiful surroundings, and the view of the Black Lake. How magnificent it was. Soon, the carriage came to a halt. We were at the entrance. Standing there to greet me, was the Headmaster himself.

"Ah, Isabel!" He said with a smile. Was this the same man that was having doubts about me returning here? He seemed very happy to welcome me back. Talk about a change of tune. I stepped out of the carriage carefully, as my high heels did not make it easy. I then realised, I had changed my look completely since last time I had been here. I was wearing my long dresses back then, and they looked like clothes for a grandmother compared to these. I didn't particularly miss my straight hair that I was sporting back then either. How were the students going to react to what I was wearing? And the teachers? It wasn't exactly conservative.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts!" He told me, his tone joyful. He threw his hands up in the air with a huge smile. I couldn't help but notice his hand. The Headmaster's right hand was blackened, and it looked like it was the hand of a corpse. Dumbledore noticed the attention I was paying to his hand and quickly covered it up. "I trust you're happy to be back here?"

"Very, Headmaster," I replied. "Thank you for giving me another chance."

"Everyone deserves a second chance, do they not? Besides, you are a fantastic teacher, and you are enthusiastic about your job. Not many teachers nowadays are. You are a valuable asset to the school." He had definitely changed his tune. But hey, I wasn't going to spoil the party. If he wanted to shower me with praise, I wasn't going to stop him.

"Is Father here yet?"

"Severus? Oh, yes, he's down in his office, being his antisocial self. Now, this evening, the annual teacher dinner! It's a compulsory event, so I shall see you in the Great Hall, later on, shall I?" On the outside, I was smiling and nodding at the Headmaster, pretending I was enthusiastic about this teacher dinner that never went well. Inside, I was rolling my eyes.

"I shall see you there, Headmaster. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get settled into - " I began to say before I was interrupted.

"Oh, before I forget, you have been located to a new office and quarters." What? I didn't know how to feel about this news. I was attached to my old office and private quarters. Many important things had taken place in there. On the other hand, I hated where it was placed. The dungeons were cold in the winter, and they were very lonely.

"Where is it now?"

"Down the hall from the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. You'll find all your belongings are already there. I will see you this evening, Isabel. Pleasant day." With that, Dumbledore left me on my own.

That man was very, very strange. Brilliant, but strange.

* * *

I walked into the Great Hall as quietly as I could, not wanting to make a grand entrance for all the other teachers to see. There were so many things I was afraid of. What if they were at Sirius' memorial and saw me drunk? What if they did not approve of the way I looked? What if they were curious about Sirius and wanted to ask me all sorts of questions that I did not want to answer? The sound of my heels clicking against the floor drew their attention as I made my way towards the large round table. Damn it. They all froze and looked up at me. This was just as nerve racking as my first time here as a teacher.

"Isabel!" Minerva said with the faintest hint of a smile. I sat down at the table and smiled at everyone.

"Welcome back," Flitwick told me.

"It's good to be back." It was very, very silent. It made me worried. What were they thinking?

"You were definitely missed," Pormona said, breaking the tension in the room. "We were all a bit empty after Umbridge got rid of you. Weren't we?" The rest of the staff all nodded in agreement, but they weren't very enthusiastic about it. "Oh for goodness sakes, all of you! We just got Isabel back! We should all be very thankful that she has returned to teach the children!" I was shocked by Pormona's outburst of support for me. I was happy that someone was glad I had returned, just shocked she was that vocal.

"I apologise, Isabel," Madame Hooch said, "however, some of us are doubting your teaching abilities. I mean this with the upmost respect, but we're not sure you have what it takes anymore."

"And why is this?" I asked. I was incredibly offended by Madame Hooch's accusations.

"Some of us saw you at Sirius Black's memorial," Septima Vector, the Arithmancy teacher said.

"That was a very difficult time in my life. I lost someone I loved very much and didn't handle it well at all, but you must understand that I have recovered very well from that. You're just all going to have to trust me in that this is the best place for me. I'm still very capable of teaching, and I always have the students best interests at heart. I'm no less capable than I was the last time I stepped in to teach a class."

"Besides," a deep voice said from behind me, "she'll be teaching with me." Father pulled out the chair next to me and took his seat. That shut every other teacher up. Not one of them spoke up again. I breathed out and smiled to myself. No matter what, Father was always on my side. Not many people could boast having Severus Snape on their side despite the situation.

* * *

We were well into the opening feast, and I was beginning to worry about the vacant seat next to me. Father was not here, and he did not tell me where he was. Sure, Father had always said he'd like nothing more than to miss out on these boring feasts, listening to children he didn't care for get sorted, but Dumbledore hardly ever permitted a staff member to be missing at the opening feast. It was very rare. As if right on cue, in walked Father through the open doors of the Great Hall, with Harry Potter of all people. Harry. Sirius. I shook off my thoughts, and turned my attention to Father. He marched up to the staff table and took his place next to me.

"What was that all about?" I said softly.

"None of your business, is it, Isabel?" He snapped back. I rolled my eyes at him. Why did I even bother?

"The very best of evenings to you!" Dumbledore said, beaming down on all the students. I turned away from Father to watch Dumbledore's speech to the children. I quickly glanced at them, and they had also noticed Dumbledore's dead-looking hand. The room began to buzz, students whispering amongst themselves, attempting to work out what was wrong with it. Dumbledore responded in the same way he responded after I saw it - he covered it up.

"Nothing to worry about," he said casually. "Now...to our new students, welcome; to our old students, welcome back! Another year of magical education awaits you..." I could tell the students could not care less about what he was saying. They were all still focused on his hand. "...and Mr Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to say that there is a blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop called the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from laughing. Fred and George were still making an impact, even if they were not here anymore.

"Those wishing to play for their house Quidditch teams should also give their names to their Heads of House as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise." Quidditch, never really got into the sport. I did on the occasional time, especially when I was at Hogwarts, but that was only for my friends' sakes.

"We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year, Professor Slughorn." The man sitting two seats away from me rose from his seat. I didn't even notice him at the staff dinner. Was he even there? "Is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post as Potions master." The looks on the students' faces were quite hilarious. Every person, from every house except Slytherin sat there in complete shock. Father had always been their Potions teacher. And now...

"Professor Severus Snape, meanwhile, will be taking over the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"No!" Someone shouted loudly. I looked to the Gryffindor table to see Harry was the one who had become vocal over this situation. I know he didn't particularly like Father, but I had a feeling that there were other reasons for his outburst. The Great Hall was a way I had never seen it before. Father, standing up at the staff table, looked triumphant, while all the students below him silently panicked. Their faces paled, and some of them even looked like they were going to faint.

"Also, some of you will be very glad to hear this, I'm sure, Professor Isabel Snape will be taking up her old position as Assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, returning after her few months off from her old post." I rose from my seat to thunderous applause from the Slytherin table. I bet they were happy. The Hufflepuff's, Ravenclaw's and Gryffindor's all looked somewhat relieved that I was back, and that they didn't have to deal with Father on his own.

* * *

After the feast was over, I left the staff table in a hasty attempt to catch up with a certain person. During the feast, I caught the eye of Draco. He looked paler than usual and thinner than usual. It was odd, I couldn't help but question what was wrong with him. I knew it was dangerous for me to be around him, considering who his father was, but Draco used to be my friend. There was a side to him that not many people knew. Granted, he only acted like that around me because of who my father was and the fact I was a Slytherin, but I still knew that side of Draco. Underneath all of it, there was a real, true person in there.

"Draco Malfoy," I said sternly, catching up with him just outside of the Great Hall. He continued walking, like he did not hear me, but I wasn't going to let him slip. "DRACO!" Almost all of Slytherin house stopped at my loud, severe voice. Draco froze, then turned to me slowly. "The rest of you, continue to the Dungeons." There was no response. "NOW!" The students hurried along, as if nothing had happened. Obviously my strict voice had finally come through. I walked towards Draco once the students had gone. This conversation was private, and was not for anyone to see.

"Hello, Draco," I greeted him, a genuine smile packaged with the joyful welcome. "How are you?" Draco did not answer. He simply stared at me, his eyes blank.

"Draco..."

"What?" He spat harshly. "What is it that you want?

"I wanted to check if you were okay. I saw you in there, you did not look good at all."

"I'm sorry, I don't feel like spilling my feelings to a filthy blood traitor!" Draco stormed away from me, leaving me frozen, and shocked in his wake. Blood traitor? Filthy? Draco, what had they done to you?

* * *

I walked down the hall at a steady pace, remembering the last time I walked these halls. I had missed this place so much. I didn't feel entirely whole without it. As I was greeted by many students on my walk, one caught my attention. The black haired boy was sitting in the viaduct courtyard by himself, reading a book.

"Harry," I breathed out. Seeing him was a hard hit to my system. Harry was the biggest reminder of Sirius. He was Sirius' family. Sirius was like his uncle, even his father. Their relationship was close, and it was beautiful. I always loved seeing them around each other. They brought out the best in them. Sirius was always better and happier after Harry had visited and talked to him. I walked up to him and sighed. This was going to be difficult, but we had to talk. I sat down next to him and smiled, even if it was a more solemn smile than a happy smile. "How are you, Harry?"

"I'm alright," he said, nodding.

"How was your summer?"

"It was fine."

"Harry, please talk to me," I said. "You know that we're the only people in this world that can understand what we've gone through. Please don't shut me out." I was desperate to talk to Harry about all of this. We needed to talk to each other about this. He was the only other person apart from Remus who knew what I was feeling. And, as much as it hurt, he reminded me of the good memories I had with Sirius. I was worried at how little Harry had to say. I hoped that he handled it better than I did. "How did you handle it?" I asked Harry. He lowered his head and shut his book, as if to accept defeat.

"I didn't see anyone, didn't speak to anyone. I isolated myself. Seemed to do the trick." Harry's reaction was completely normal, much more normal than my own. I was so glad that nothing harmful happened to him. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if it did, because I knew that Sirius would want me to take care of Harry. Sirius was the closest thing Harry had to a father, and now he had been snatched from him. Hadn't Harry already lost so much? Losing Sirius was never going to be fair on him. "And you?"

"I went off the rails," I told him, merely shrugging. There wasn't much else to it. "I didn't handle it. I pushed everyone I loved away from me and I took up drinking." My mind went back to Sirius' memorial, and the day when I trashed the living room to Grimmauld Place; the absolute lowest points in my life. "I was infuriated, Harry. I had lost my fiancé - "

"Fiancé?" Harry interrupted. "You and Sirius were engaged?" I bowed my head and bit my lip to stop myself from bursting into tears. I completely forgot that Harry did not know, and this only made it harder.

"He proposed to me the night before it happened. I'm so sorry that I forgot to tell you." Harry practically ignored me, picking his book up and rising from his sitting place. Before he could walk off, I grabbed his arm, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Harry, don't walk away from me. It was a mistake not telling you but there are things we need to discuss."

"Isabel, we can discuss it all we like, it's not going to change the fact Sirius has died." I dropped my hand from Harry's arm and stared at him. Was this the same Harry that I used to know? Had Sirius' death changed him that much? Harry sighed at seeing my reaction and sat back down. "I'm sorry. I just find it very difficult to speak about him."

"I know what you mean," I said weakly, my voice breaking. My heart was breaking for Harry. I had lost my fiancé, Harry had lost so much more. And to think I was the one receiving the attention. "What I would give to see him one more time, Harry. What I would give to have him hold me again. What I would give to say goodbye." I wiped the single tear that fell onto my cheek away. Strength, Isabel. Strength. "I apologise, Harry."

"Don't apologise. I understand. He played a big role in your life, as he did mine. You know, Sirius once said to me 'we will see each other again,' and I believe that. I believe we will see him again. And he'll be there, smiling, waiting with open arms to greet us." My head was lowered, and I had completely lost it at Harry's words. I was sobbing. Harry pat my shoulder twice before leaving me on my own in the courtyard.

"Oh, Sirius," I whispered under my breath, closing my eyes. "What I would give to tell you I love you one last time." All I could see in my head was Sirius' smiling face. It was haunting.

* * *

**A/N: MOST IMPORTANT THING - note the pen name change! Thought it needed an urgent change! **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed that chapter. I really thought the last bit between Harry and Isabel was the most important part of the chapter, seeing as it was the first time they saw each other since Sirius' death.**

**REVIEWS! Come on! I know people are reading and not reviewing, and I'm so thankful you are reading, but please, please, please review!**

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**Next Chapter:**

"Brilliant," I told Hermione, applauding her for achieving such a feat, ten minutes into the lesson. "Ten - "

"Do not award points for that," Father said severely.

"Why not?" I asked him. "She's achieved what you ask in _ten minutes_. It's remarkable."

"It's expected," Father replied harshly. I had realised now that a few students were now paying attention to our little argument, including Harry, Ron and Draco.

"So you will not reward your students for good work?"

"That was hardly good work. It was the set task for the students, and if they are capable of doing what I ask of them, good. They are not toddlers, they do not need to be praised every time they do something right, Isabel."

"You'd know all about toddlers, seeing as you were there for me when I was one. Oh, wait, no, you weren't," I spat before walking out of the classroom.


	90. A Father's Best Interests

**Thanks to: Alexandra, narniaandharrypotter4ever, HPFan, , TheDiva121, ariapyrasyria, LaFlorine and ZabuzasGirl for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Flume by Bon Iver  
**__**Dreaming With a Broken Heart by John Mayer**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. **

* * *

After Harry had left me on my own, I decided to take a stroll around the whole castle to clear my head. It was strange, I had found it harder to talk to Harry after all of this than I did talking to Father after what happened at Grimmauld Place just after Sirius' death. Father had said some terrible things to me that day, but I just got over it. I could no longer push people away. I also knew Father was simply blinded by his hatred for Sirius. It's not like he was going to grieve and cry alongside me. I couldn't lose my father. I had already lost so much. Some things you just had to brush under the carpet and pretend they didn't happen. Sometimes you just had to lie.

I strolled down the corridor in which the entrance to the Headmaster's office was. Moments later, someone exited the Headmaster's office and began to walk towards me. The woman looked familiar, but she seemed dull and miserable. Only when she looked up did I realise who it was.

"Tonks?" At the sound of my voice, Tonks froze. I quickly walked towards her and grabbed her shoulders. "What is wrong with you? What's happened? You look - "

"Isabel, I need to go," she told me, her voice quiet and weak. She attempted to push past me, but I stopped her. I would not let her go anywhere like this. Her hair was mousy brown, of all colours, and lank. And I swore she had become thinner than she was a week ago when I last saw her. If I was worried when I had left Andromeda's, I was even more worried now.

"You're not going anywhere, you're coming with me." I pulled her by her coat all the way to my office and sat her down in the chair. I was surprised at how submissive she was. I would have thought she'd push me away and yell at me for some sort of irrelevant reason. "Explain everything. You smell horrible, you look awful and you look miserable, the complete opposite of the Nymphadora Tonks that I know." She remained silent, staring at the pictures of Fleur, Gabrielle and I, Father and I and Sirius and I that were on my desk. I turned them away from her so she was not distracted. Tonks was my best friend. I owed it to her to work out what was wrong.

"Tonks, please. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." She muttered something under her breath which I didn't catch. "Tonks..."

"It's Remus!" She cried hysterically, throwing her hands up in the air. Remus? "I told him how I felt about him, because we've been out together a few times, and he told me he was a werewolf and he was poor and I didn't care and he just - "

"Tonks, breathe." Tonks breathed in and out rapidly, trying to calm herself down. I had never seen her in such a mess before. "Calm down." I put my arm around her, holding her tightly. My heart broke for her, as I knew what it was like to feel like this. Remus had said the same things to me, and he disappeared for months because of this same issue. I knew what it was like to have your heart broken by Remus Lupin. "Tell me, what did he say exactly?"

"He simply said that he was too poor and too dangerous for me to be with him, and that I deserved better. I do not understand! Why does he not like me?"

"He does," I told her, crouching in front of her and lifting her chin to look at me. "He does like you. He told me himself." I wiped her tears off of her cheeks gently and smiled. "Remus can be a bit of an arse sometimes." Tonks laughed a little under her breath and nodded, agreeing with me.

"Why didn't this happen to you?" She asked me. It was tough, talking about my relationship with Remus in front of Tonks, as I still had feelings for him. I would forever have feelings for him. He just crept under my skin and I have never been able to shake him. But I had to help her. She deserved him, not me.

"It did happen to me. He disappeared, for months! I had no clue where he was," I told her. "He took me out into a middle of a forest, one that he loves and wanted to show me, and told me I deserved better than someone like him. After that, he just disapparated. Left me there on my own after telling me to forget him. Of course, that didn't last, but it broke my heart, because that was when I realised I had fallen for him." Tonks sighed and lowered her head again. "Listen to me," I said, lifting her head up again. "You're going to fight for him. Fight and persevere. Remus needs to be loved by a girl who loves him completely, with one hundred percent of her heart. I couldn't do that for him, but you can, and he does really like you, Tonks."

"Really?"

"Yes," I said, nodding my head with a smile. "He told me himself. You are good enough for him, and he is good enough for you. You are perfect for each other." I hugged Tonks again, holding her tightly in my arms. I did not want to see her this sad over a man. It was not worth it.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome," I whispered, wiping the rest of her tears away. "Now, tell me, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here for work. I'm stationed in Hogsmeade, to keep the Death Eaters out and such."

"Well, isn't this fantastic! I'll have my best friend around to keep me company." Tonks smiled again. I was so glad that she was now grinning again because of me. It made me feel I was doing my job as a friend.

"Isabel, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything," I told her, sitting back down in my seat on the opposite side of the desk.

"What's going on with you and Fred?" I put on a smile and shrugged.

"I don't know what you're talking about." On the contrary, I knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Well, you went out the other night, of course that my doing, but I also saw you the night of your birthday. I saw you two talking alone in the corner, and the way you reacted to what he did for you with Gabrielle. And at the end of the night I saw him carrying you back inside, and then I saw you through your window. He was undoing your corset strings and you seemed to be very much stuck in the moment with him." I sighed, wishing that no one had seen that moment.

"I don't know what's happening, Tonks. I just, I feel this connection with him. I don't know what it is, but when he touched my skin whilst undoing my corset strings, it felt like he was stimulating every nerve in my body. It won't be taken further though. It's too soon from Sirius, and it's Fred. He's younger than me, too immature."

"He's younger than you by three years, Isabel. Would you like me to compare that to the age gap between you and Sirius?" I shook my head, knowing that the age gap between me and Sirius was quite...wide. "You say you feel a connection with him. Yes, it may be a bit soon from Sirius, but give it time. You make the judgement to when it's appropriate to move on. Just, don't rule it out." Tonks looked to the clock on my wall and her eyes widened.

"Merlin's beard! I must be off! I have so much to do!" She jumped up from her chair and rushed over to me, kissing my cheek. "Thank you for everything." She then exited my office as quickly as she could, leaving me in her wake. At least she was happier now. Hopefully it would last.

* * *

It felt strange to wake up in my private quarters, and not in my bed at the Tonks house. I sat up and stretched my arms, awakening from my night's sleep. It was time for my first class of the year, so I had to feel my best and look my best. I had to show Dumbledore that I was stable and capable of doing my job. I rose from the bed and pulled myself over to my dressing table. I sat down at the seat and stared at myself in the mirror. I looked like absolute hell. How did I become like this overnight? I picked up my brush and went to work on my hair. I loved my new wavy hair. Andie was a genius for giving it to me. I placed the brush back down on the dressing table. Just before I was to pick up my make up brush, I paused. The photo of Sirius with his arms around my waist, us both smiling and laughing, had caught my eye. I picked it up and stared down at it.

"Words cannot describe how much I miss you," I whispered down at the picture. I wondered if it was always going to be like this. Would there ever be a day that I would not miss him? I had been trying to push the pain and grief out for the past few weeks, but I could not do it anymore. I had to feel it. I had to let it back in. I closed my eyes and kissed the picture frame. I had let him go, but I was not ever going to forget him. There was a place in my heart reserved for his memory, and it shall never be replaced. I placed the frame back down in its original spot before continuing to get myself ready for today's classes.

* * *

I walked towards the door of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom slowly, making sure I didn't make a fool of myself in front of the students by falling in my high heels. Father was not here yet, as the students were still outside and waiting. I hesitated, wondering whether Father would appreciate me taking charge and letting the students in.

"Why have you become so scared of your father all a sudden?" I muttered to myself under my breath. I took a deep breath and composed myself. This was supposed to be my class anyway. Father only got the job because of what had happened to me over the summer...or at least I thought that was the case. "Out of the way," I said with a stern voice. The students quickly stepped to the sides to let me through, seemingly surprised by my new found authority. I opened the door with my wand and let the students into the classroom. They took their seats, and I walked to the front, feeling very much in charge.

"It seems that my father is not here yet, so I guess we should be discussing a few things before he arrives." I leaned against the front desk and surveyed the classroom. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Draco were all in this class, as well as one of my absolute favourites Pansy Parkinson...I wonder if she had grown a brain over the summer or if she was still the dumbest girl in the whole Wizarding world. What a great class to have first up. "Now, seeing as both of your professors in this class are both Professor Snape's, I permit you, in this class and this class _only _to call me Miss Snape to clear confusion."

"So we don't call you Professor Snape?" Seamus Finnigan asked from the back of the classroom.

"In this classroom, it's Miss Snape. Outside, it's still Professor Snape. Are we clear?" The students nodded at me silently. I was surprised at myself. Usually I was not this stern with my students, I was a very laid back teacher with a laid back way of teaching, I would prefer them to see me as someone they would like teaching them, I didn't want them to be scared of me, the way they were scared of Father.

"Isabel, excuse me, Miss Snape," Ron said. I smirked at how easy it was for him to forget that I was a teacher.

"Yes, Ron?"

"Why aren't you teaching the class on your own? I mean, I thought you were going to take over the position eventually." The students buzzed in agreement with Ron, even some of the Slytherin's in the class.

"Well, if you must know, well, you already know Ron, but for the rest of the class," I sat on the front desk and waited for quiet. "My fiancé died during the middle of summer." This set off an even bigger buzz in the classroom. Oh, the shock. Isabel Snape was engaged to be married at the age of twenty. Oh the horror. Their teacher had a life outside of Hogwarts. I clapped my hands loudly to settle them down and get the attention back on me. Ron had asked a question on behalf of the class, I intended to answer it in full. "I did not handle his death very well, and Professor Dumbledore saw how I had handled it, and thought it would be best for me to teach under Father this year."

"Indeed, that is true," came a voice from the back of the classroom. Father entered and waved his wand. Curtains then flew across each of the windows, and candles were lit. It was until then that I had noticed the pictures on the walls. Gruesome, disturbing pictures. Well done, Father. What a way to make an entrance. I rose from sitting on the desk and moved to the side of the room, not wishing for a father-daughter confrontation in front of the whole class.

"I have not asked you to take out your books," Father told the class, moving to behind his desk. "I wish to speak to you and I want your fullest attention." I knew what Father's lectures were like. I got them everywhere as a child, at school and at home. Just when I thought I didn't need to hear another one, here I was. "You have had five teachers in this subject so far, I believe. Naturally, these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities." Who could forget Umbridge's method? "Given this confusion I am surprised many of you scraped an O.W.L. in this subject. I shall be even more surprised if all of you manage to keep up with the N.E.W.T. work, which will be much more advanced." I rolled my eyes at Father's words. He was always negative when it came to the students, never positive. Father left the desk and walked into the corner of the room. He was definitely making it difficult for the students to see him, and myself.

"The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which in unfixed, mutating, indestructible." I knew Father had a passion for the Dark Arts, but speaking about it as if he were speaking about a lover, was truly disturbing, especially seeing as we were in a war. I saw this as a challenge. "Your - "

"Your defences," I interrupted, walking into the middle of the classroom, "must therefore be as flexible and as inventive as the Arts you seek to undo, which trust me, is quite possible. As my father said to you, the Dark Arts is ever-changing, but there are ways in which you can fight it off, and each time one of your defences is severed, a new head, just like the Dark Arts will sprout even fiercer and cleverer than before. You learn from mistakes. Mistakes which you will make in this classroom, and this classroom only. Out there, in the real world, there is no room for mistakes. I have seen that first hand. Out there you will not make mistakes, you will have learned from the ones you make in here." Father's face was full of surprise. I guess he didn't expect that I was going to have a role in teaching this class. He thought wrong.

"These pictures," he said, looking at me first to make sure I wasn't going to interrupt him again. I simply smiled back at Father and nodded, urging him to continue. "Give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse." He indicated towards a picture with a witch, screaming in pain. "Feel the Dementor's Kiss." The next picture showed a wizard blank eyed, slumped against a wall. That's what Father wanted to do to Sirius. I felt anger building inside of me, but I had to suppress it. This was not the place, and this was not the time. It was in the past, and Sirius was gone. What was the point? "Or provoke the aggression of the Inferius." The last picture showed a bloodied mass on the ground. I looked at the students, half of whom were pale.

"Has an Inferius been seen then?" Pavarti Patil asked. Brave girl to be asking such questions. "Is it definite, is _he _using them?" Even braver, asking about You-Know-Who.

"The Dark Lord," he began. I hated it when he used the Dark Lord. It reminded me that he was involved with that side, and that they thought he was loyal to him. "The Dark Lord has used inferi in the past, which means you would be well advised to assume he might use them again. Now..." he walked back to the middle of the room and to his desk, passing me, sending me a quick warning glance. "You are, I believe, complete novices in use if the non-verbal spell." Again with the negativity. "What is the advantage of using a non-verbal spell?" The only hand that went up in the class was Hermione's. Father waited, and waited, and waited, obviously not wanting to hear from Hermione.

"Hermione," I said, nodding at her. If Father wasn't going to let her answer, then I was. I was not here to watch is Slytherin bias.

"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform," said Hermione, "which gives you a split-second advantage." I smiled at Hermione, it was a perfect answer, but by the expression on Father's face, he was less than impressed.

"An answer copied almost word for word from _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6_," he said, brushing off her answer.

"Good answer, Hermione," I told her, ignoring my Father's criticism.

"However," Father said, glaring at me. "correct in essentials. Yes, those who progress to using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting. Not all wizards can do this of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some lack." I looked at Father, who was starting directly at Harry. Father's attitude towards Harry was childish, and I was tired of it. Did he have nothing better to do than pick on someone like Harry?

"You will now divide into pairs," I said, breaking off the tension between Harry and Father. "One of you will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence."

"Carry on," Father said sternly. As they broke into their pairs, Father stormed over to me and stood over me. "What on earth is wrong with you? You're acting disrespectful towards me, and embarrassing both you and me in front of these students. Do _not _interrupt me again." Father turned on his heel and walked to look at what each of the students were doing. I breathed in deeply, composing myself. I was like everyone else, I was intimidated by my father too. I shook it off, then also walked to look what the students were doing. Minutes had passed, and I found myself standing by Father as we watched Hermione and Neville go at it. As Neville muttered the Jelly-Legs Jinx, hoping none of us would hear, Hermione repelled it without a single word.

"Brilliant," I told Hermione, applauding her for achieving such a feat, ten minutes into the lesson. "Ten - "

"Do not award points for that," Father said severely.

"Why not?" I asked him. "She's achieved what you ask in _ten minutes_. It's remarkable."

"It's expected," Father replied harshly. I had realised now that a few students were now paying attention to our little argument, including Harry, Ron and Draco.

"So you will not reward your students for good work?"

"That was hardly good work. It was the set task for the students, and if they are capable of doing what I ask of them, good. They are not toddlers, they do not need to be praised every time they do something right, Isabel."

"You'd know all about toddlers, seeing as you were there for me when I was one. Oh, wait, no, you weren't," I spat before walking out of the classroom.

* * *

I sat opposite Dumbledore, Minerva and Father each side of me. I screwed up. I had told Dumbledore that I would not mess up, and that I would not let him down, but in my very first class of the year, I had done just that. I was so disappointed in myself. Disgusted, even. This was not good enough. I turned to my right and looked up at my father.

"I'm so, so sorry, I know I disrespected you, in your own classroom, and I acted like a child. I don't even know what to say right now," I told him, tears falling from my eyes. "The last thing I ever want to do is disappoint you, but I did, I hate disappointing you. Merlin, what do I even say right now?"

"Isabel, please, calm. We do not wish to make you more upset than you are. Obviously, you regret your actions from earlier today, so we are a step ahead," Dumbledore said. I could see the disappointment in his eyes. He had put his trust in me and I just ruined everything. I didn't only reflect badly on me, but it reflected badly on Father and Dumbledore. I had disrespected them, Father especially. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Isabel.

"I don't know what to say," I told them, my voice frail and broken. "I cannot believe what I have done to you, especially you Father. I only wish that I could get a time turner and go and fix it all. I humiliated you in front of students, and I...I can't take it back now. I can only apologise. You all know this isn't like me, I would never usually do this. I honestly do not understand what's wrong with me."

"I understand," Dumbledore said. Unlike my own voice, his was warm and comforting, something which I was not expecting after my actions."You are grieving, Isabel." I opened my mouth to say something in reply, but he held his hand up as an indication for me to keep quiet. "As much as you'd like to say there is nothing wrong, and as much as you try to push it away, it's only going to eat away at you until there is nothing left. Grief does that. Now, you have rebounded from your lowest point very well, but there are going to be days, like today, where you are going to act completely out of your personality. You acted out, you snapped. It was going to happen eventually, and it just happened today."

"Headmaster, I - "

"I'm not going to let you go, Isabel, however this is a warning. Well, not a warning as such, but more of a statement. Isabel, I can see you do not belong here at the moment. You belong back with Andromeda Tonks, surrounded by people that love you and can care for you much more than any of us can. However, I cannot make the decision. The decision is in your hands. You must be the one to tell me when enough is enough." I refused to give up. I know that my little episode today did not show that I was up for it, but I was going to fight. I was going to show them that I could do this. I was Isabel Snape. I did not quit.

* * *

I exited Dumbledore's office, Father walking in front of me. He had not said a word to me at all during that whole meeting with Dumbledore. It worried me, as he would usually be quite vocal in our meetings, such as the one we had two years ago when Harry's name had been picked from the Goblet of Fire. Father's black robes flowed in front of me as he kept up his fast pace, and I struggled to keep up in my high heels. Once we were back in the main corridor, I grabbed his arm to stop him from walking away from me.

"Father, stop." He shrugged out of my grip and turned to me, standing over me. It was very intimidating. My breathing became more rapid at Father's aggressive behaviour. Somehow, I felt like he was very similar to Tobias when he was very angry. Father would intimidate people and scare them. I knew Father was the opposite to Tobias, it's just...I couldn't help but make the comparison.

"I do not think there is much more to be said," Father said down to me harshly.

"Father, you know I am still suffering on the inside!"

"Suffering from that good-for-nothing idiot's death? Isabel, you were too good for that man!" I tried to keep it together. This was Father's hate speaking, not the part of him that loved me.

"I understand you did not like Sirius, but I just need you to be understanding of my situation. Father, I regret everything I said in class today. I don't know how clear I can make that. I just don't want you to stay angry at me because I made a mistake. I can't bear for you to be upset at me forever."

"I'm not upset, I'm humiliated, Isabel."

"I know you are." Father sighed and shook his head.

"Mistakes have been made today which I never expect you to make again. You are my daughter, and we have come too far to let it just slip away over some stupid comments made in a time where your mind was lost." I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank Merlin. The wizarding gods were definitely on my side today. "However, I agree with Dumbledore." What? "You have too much responsibility here, responsibility which you are not mentally capable to handle yet. You need to be back with Andromeda Tonks, and around people that are able to care for you a lot more then I can. Even Remus Lupin, as much as I loathe the man, is better for you then anyone here at Hogwarts."

"Father, I don't - "

"You're trying to prove to everyone that you can do it, I can see that. In that sense, you are much like me. Just let me make it clear, you have nothing to prove to any of us. We could see this coming, which was why Dumbledore was so hesitant to bring you back to teach." Father placed his hand on my shoulder, which calmed me. "You do not have to prove your capabilities to me of all people. I know of your capabilities, but I also know that you are not emotionally strong enough to be here. I am saying this in your best interests, Isabel."

"Best interests?" I said, looking up at him, confusion written all over my face.

"I know, more than anyone else, even more than yourself about your best interests because I am your father. Now, I want you to go, have your dinner, and then sleep it all off, and make your decision tomorrow." Father patted my shoulder twice, then turned away, walking away in a brisk manner. Perhaps returning was a mistake.

* * *

**A/N: Another long chapter for you! Hopefully you enjoyed it! I really wanted to showcase two important relationships in this chapter - Tonks and Isabel, and Severus and Isabel. Especially Severus and Isabel, because their relationship is central to the story, and we have not seen much of it lately.**

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**Next Chapter:**

"Draco, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong, because obviously something is very wrong!" I reached out for his shoulder, but he pushed my hand away and stood up in a huff.

"Don't touch me, blood traitor," he spat, his tone full of venom. He turned to walk away, but I was having none of it. He would not say that to me and get away with it.

"Draco!" I yelled, furious that he would say such things to me. "Do not walk away from me Draco!"


	91. Draco

**Thanks to: TheDiva121, HPFan, LaFlorine, IcyRose66, Guest, Alexandra and ariapyrasyria for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Severus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Satellite Heart by Anya Marina  
**__**Take Your Time by Cary Brothers**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

Whilst I was on my usual morning stroll, I spotted Draco, sitting in the corner of the courtyard on his own. He had his head in his hands and looked increasingly frustrated with himself. I knew that it was hard for me to be around Draco because of who his father was, and what he had done to me, but I needed to help Draco. He was my friend, no matter what, and as a teacher of this school, it was my duty to help him. I made my way over to him and sat down. He did not move. He stayed where he was, his head in his hands.

"Draco," I sad softly "Draco, what's the matter?"

"Get away from me," he snapped back. I rolled my eyes, he could be so stubborn.

"Draco, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong, because obviously something is very wrong!" I reached out for his shoulder, but he pushed my hand away and stood up in a huff.

"Don't touch me, blood traitor," he spat, his tone full of venom. He turned to walk away, but I was having none of it. He would not say that to me and get away with it. I was not some Malfoy pushover like I used to be. I had grown, and I had matured. I was not going to let Draco treat me this way.

"Draco!" I yelled, furious that he would say such things to me. "Do not walk away from me Draco!" He did not listen, and he did not stop at my words. "DRACO, YOU TAKE ONE MORE STEP AND I'LL GIVE YOU TO DUMBLEDORE TO DEAL WITH." Draco froze and turned back to me. He stared at me, his eyes empty. Yes, Draco had always been this spoiled brat, but he had never been this cruel. I was not going to let him get worse than he already was. I walked towards him and put my hand on his arm. "Draco, what's happened to you? What have they done?" Draco stepped back, out of my reach, still not saying a word.

"Draco, talk to me."

"Why do you even care?" He spat. "You're just like all of them! You just spout mindless drivel from your mouth when you really don't know anything!"

"And you do?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "Draco, I just want to help you. Remember when we were friends, when we were both younger? Nothing has changed since then. I'm truly worried about you, Draco, and I'm probably the only person that sincerely cares about you right now. I can help you, with whatever you need."

"You can't help me with anything," he snapped.

"And those Death Eaters you're hanging around with can?" Draco's whole body froze the moment I mentioned the Death Eaters. He obviously thought nobody knew, but I knew. I knew his father, and I knew what they were like. I didn't want Draco involved in that, but I was too late. Draco shook his head and walked off on me again, only I did not stop him. It was too late. The Draco I used to know was gone. I wasn't going to waste my time and energy trying to save him from what he had become. I just missed the old Draco.

* * *

I sat in my office, by the window, reading the student's work. I loved how my office was filled with light, compared to my old one. I could see the whole Black Lake out of my window, and the surrounding scenery. It was truly magic at its best. It was so much better up here than it was down in the dark, depressing dungeons. I was not my father, I did not enjoy sitting by myself surrounded by nothingness.

"Miss Isabel!" My head shot up at the unexpected voice coming from the other side of my room.

"Dobby!" I exclaimed, a huge smile growing on my face. Was it possible to have missed a house elf this much? I stood up and walked quickly towards the grinning house elf standing next to my bookcase and seat. "Dobby, how are you?"

"Dobby is good, Miss Isabel! Especially now that Miss Isabel has returned to Hogwarts!" Dobby was so sweet, much sweeter than Kreacher ever was. He was absolutely horrible to me. "How is Miss Gabrielle?" I found it hard to believe that Dobby still remembered my sister.

"Gabrielle is fantastic! And she'll be quite happy to hear you are doing well. Oh, Dobby, it has been far too long since I have seen you! What is it that brings you to me? Just a visit?"

"Yes, Dobby could not wait to visit Miss Isabel, especially since Dobby hasn't seen Miss Isabel since she was fired last year, but Professor Dumbledore has also asked Dobby to bring Miss Isabel a package." Dobby clicked his fingers, and suddenly a stack of parchment appeared next to him. I was curious. Why would Dumbledore be sending me a heap of parchment? I had all the parchment I needed. It was very odd to say the least.

"These are for me?" I asked, picking up one of the pieces of parchment. I inspected the front of it, but there was nothing written. It was blank. I then realised it was folded in half, so I opened it up and inspected the handwriting that was on it, to see who it was from. I looked closely at the handwriting. It was so familiar. Once I had finally registered whose handwriting it was, my knees buckled and I fell backwards into the chair behind me. Alarmed, Dobby raced to my side.

"Miss Isabel! Miss Isabel, what is wrong? Can Dobby help?" I shook my head and gazed at the letter in my hand, not knowing whether I should read the rest of them or not.

"Why would Dumbledore give these to me now?" I asked Dobby. Was Dumbledore really trying his hardest to make me fall apart? To break me? Was this some sort of sick resilience test? Did Dumbledore just want me to break in front of everyone? I looked at Dobby, my eyes sad. "I don't know whether I should read these or not, Dobby," I said softly.

"Dobby will let Miss Isabel have some alone time now," Dobby told me, nodding his head once before disappearing from the room, not even giving me the chance to say goodbye. I hoped it wouldn't be long before I saw him again. I sighed and opened the piece of parchment again. It was better to face these things, not run from them. If Dumbledore was giving this to me as a test, I would not back away. I composed myself, then began to read.

_Dearest Isabel,  
__You're probably wondering why my wedding present to you is a stack of letters.  
__I wanted to show just how much I love you.  
__Words could never express it, but I do try my hardest.  
__I cannot understand how I got so lucky, as I am marrying you.  
__I love you, and will continue to love you forever.  
__Sirius._

Wedding present? What did this mean? Dumbledore retrieved these letters from Grimmauld Place after his death? I didn't know what to think now. Perhaps Dumbledore truly wanted me to read these and thought it to be important. I placed the letter down on my desk and sat back, letting it soak in. I covered my mouth to stop a cry from escaping. I did not know if I was strong enough to read the rest of the letters. What if I just went back off the rails again because of these letters? No, I had to stop this. I wasn't going to turn back into a drunk that didn't care about anything. I needed to read these letters. They might just be the final closure that I needed. Sure, I told myself that I had to let Sirius go weeks ago, but he was still tethered to me, wherever I went. Maybe this really would help me cut the rope that still held me close to him.

_Snape,  
__This is the first letter I will ever write you.  
__You may be wondering why, but because I have such free time I like to write letters to vent my feelings. Maybe you'll see this one day, maybe you won't.  
__You're an obnoxious idiot. Obviously, because you're his daughter. I've decided you get on my nerves and I don't like you.  
__But you're insanely sexy.  
__But I still hate you.  
__Black._

I laughed at the letter. I can't believe that we had gone from feeling completely incensed by each other, to being engaged. I remember the feeling of hating Sirius. He pissed me off, in a big way. He was just an ignorant tool that I was being forced to help. It was a fine line between love and hate, obviously.

_Snape,  
__You came around again today to 'check up on me'. I still don't understand why Dumbledore has a Snape checking up on me. I called you a bitch, but Remus didn't agree with me. He's very in love with you. You love him too, but by the looks of things you haven't realised it yet. Moony needs some happiness in his life. You'd be good for him.  
__But how would he of all people manage to snag someone as crazy sexy as you?  
__I need to stop saying that.  
__I still hate you.  
__Black._

* * *

_Isabel,  
__Yes, we've moved to first name basis.  
__You were a wreck today. Lucius Malfoy apparently. That'll teach you for trusting slimy gits like him.  
__We had an honest conversation today, I called you brave. And we were going to celebrate your birthday but you ran out and it was a little...strange.  
__All in all, I stopped hating you today. You're alright. You're not your father.  
__Sirius._

* * *

_Isabel,  
__You told me Harry was in the Tri-Wizard tournament today. I'm pissed off now.  
__But not at you. You've got enough shit going on with Remus. You're both shattered, I don't understand why you can't sort out your problems and be happy again?  
__Although, I felt strange around you today. Something had changed.  
__Sirius.  
_

* * *

_Isabel,  
__I've realised what that strange feeling is. I like you. I like a Snape. What is wrong with me? You belong to Remus! And you're a Snape! But you're sexy! But you're a Snape. Thanks for making me confused.  
__Sirius.  
_

* * *

_Isabel,  
__We kissed for the first time today. And maybe the last if your reaction was anything to go by.  
__But I've decided I want to shag you.  
__Sirius._

* * *

_Dear Isabel,  
__You've just moved in, and now Remus is back. Great. Competition for you. The last thing I want.  
__I never want to lose you. You're the best thing, apart from Harry, that has happened to me. I can't lose you to my best friend.  
__Sirius._

* * *

_Dear Isabel,  
__I realised I love you today.  
__Please don't leave me for Remus.  
__Sirius._

* * *

_Isabel,  
__You slept with my best friend. Remus, of all people. You cheated. I would never have done that to you. What kind of horrible person does that to the person they love? Ugh, I am so angry with you right now! It's like you've torn my heart in two. Just break up with me already, I'm sick of being second to my best friend.  
__Sirius._

My heart broke. Sirius was trying so hard to keep me, and I was just rubbing it in his face whenever I was around Remus. How could I have done that to him? I was ashamed of myself for toying with his feelings. He was so scared of losing me to his best friend. I didn't have to do what I did with Remus, but I did, and I killed Sirius along the way. _Sick of being second to my best friend_. It was so right. For the last year he was alive, he was second, the whole time, and I had no one to blame for that but myself. It wasn't Sirius' fault, it was not Remus' fault...it was my own.

_My dearest Isabel,  
__Tonight I asked you to marry me, and you said yes. After everything we've been through, finally, we've promised each other we'll be together forever. Words cannot describe my love and adoration for you. I've never loved anyone more in my life. You are my life. I don't know what else I can say. It's just, when I wake up in the morning, and see you by my side, I consider myself the luckiest guy to have ever lived.  
__Forever your Sirius._

The last three words lingered on my mind. _Forever your Sirius_. Guilt began to creep up on me. Maybe I had forgotten him too soon? I rose from my seat and walked to my desk, where I placed the letters, one by one, in a small wooden box. I was careful with the small pieces of paper he had written on. I didn't want to tear them, they were much too valuable. I didn't want to cry either, not that my body cared about what I wanted - tears started to fall down my cheeks. It was as if I had no idea he felt so strongly for me until now. I wondered what he would have written if he knew he was going to die in the Department of Mysteries? What would he say to me? I sat back down and rested my head in my hands. I had a lot of thinking to be doing.

* * *

I entered the Headmaster's office slowly, wiping a tear from my cheek. I sat by myself for hours, wondering what I had to do with myself. In the end, it became clear. I was well off, I had money, and I had people outside of Hogwarts that loved me and that could keep me stable. No one here at Hogwarts would be able to do that for me, not even Father. I made my way towards the Headmaster's desk and sat down in the chair opposite him.

"Isabel, my dear, what brings you here?" Professor Dumbledore asked me, but by the look on his face, he knew exactly why I was there.

"Professor Dumbledore, I think you're right," I told him, nodding, tears in my eyes. "I think I need to go. I can't be here."

"You've made the right decision for yourself," Dumbledore replied, a small smile creeping up on his face. "You know, Isabel, people say you are a lot like your father, but you are such the opposite of Severus. You allow yourself to feel pain, and to feel guilt. You allow yourself to feel the feelings that hurt you, and your Father does not. It takes a very strong person to feel the things you do, and acknowledge that you feel them. I promise, when you feel exactly right, and strong enough, your job will be waiting for you when you return."

"Thank you," I whispered. "I'm sorry to have disappointed you." I bowed my head and looked at the floor. The last thing I ever wanted was to let Dumbledore down. He had put his faith in me, and I did not repay it.

"You have not disappointed me, or anyone else for that matter. Now, I suggest you return to your office and pack, a carriage will be waiting for you at sunset, just so the students do not see you leave. I will also get Nymphadora to escort you down to Hogsmeade as a precaution." I rose from my seat and nodded. This was a good thing. Home, with Andromeda, was the best place that I could possibly be. Besides, I wasn't going to be completely useless when I returned home. I had a wedding to help plan. I started to leave the room, but before I did so, I remembered someone. I turned back to face Dumbledore.

"Do you think I should say goodbye to Harry?" I asked the Headmaster. "Is it wise?"

"Harry is still mourning over Sirius, too. I think it'd be wise, only if you can handle it."

"Okay," I replied bluntly before leaving the room. The Headmaster puts himself in a difficult position, for me, and all I can say is okay as my parting words? Idiot, Isabel. There was no point going back in now, I'd look like a fool. I guess it was time to pack, and time to leave. This wasn't me anymore. I had finally accepted that.

* * *

I returned to my office, ready to pack everything back up into my trunks, but I was not alone, and there was no need. Father, who was standing next to my empty desk, had obviously done it for me. I walked towards him, and without saying a word, I hugged him. I just needed to hug my daddy. No matter how hard life got, and no matter how lost I was, I knew my true place, and my true home was always going to be with Father. The only man a girl could ever trust in her life is her Daddy, and in my case, he was the only person I could trust.

"How did you know?" I asked, looking up at the man who raised me in my teenage years.

"Dumbledore told me that the house elf gave you the letters from Black today. When I saw you enter the Headmaster's office, crying, I figured that you were handing in your resignation. I sent all of your bags to your waiting carriage," Father answered, not letting me go. These were the moments no one got to see, the moments where Severus Snape actually showed emotion and affection. I was lucky, in that sense, that I was the only person in the world that this side of Father was reserved for.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. "Dumbledore says I'm not a disappointment, but I know I am. Nothing was supposed to happen this way. Sirius was not supposed to die, I was not supposed to fall apart, I was supposed to come back here and take the job with confidence and be the best I could be." I stepped out of my father's arms and bowed my head. "But no one ever asked me what I wanted."

"Life doesn't let us choose our own paths, if it did, life would be very different, for both of us. Now, when you get home, to Andromeda's, I want you to be with your sister, your friends...the people that care about you, because they can give you everything that I cannot." I stared up at Father, a confused look on my face. "Attention. I cannot give you the attention that you deserve. And it is so cruel, and it is unfair. I just want what is best for you."

"I'm going to miss you," I told Father.

"I shall miss you as well," he replied. After a few moments of silence, Father gave me a curt nod, then left the room, leaving me alone.

"I love you, Daddy," I whispered.

* * *

There was only one last thing I had to do before leaving. I waited outside the Gryffindor common room whilst Minerva went to collect Harry for me. Soon enough, Harry walked out, and Minerva left us by ourselves. We sat down in a seat down the other end of the hallway. I needed to talk to Harry before I left, to clear things up about Sirius, and to tell him everything was going to get better, and it was going to be okay.

"So, you're leaving," Harry said.

"Yes," I told him, nodding. "Harry, this isn't me anymore. I'm not this person. Sirius changed me so much ever since I was fired by Umbridge, and I have changed even more since his death. Harry, I know that at the moment everything seems so hard. Everyday I battle to keep myself on the right path, because it's so easy to just lose yourself. I did for a while - "

"Isabel, I miss him." I pulled Harry into a hug as a tear fell onto my cheek.

"Me too, Harry. I just wish sometimes it was all a dream, and that he was still here with us. He isn't, though, and he's never coming back. We've just got to keep going. You know he'd hate us to cry over him."

"I thought we were going to be a family, me, you and Sirius."

"Life never asks us what we want, Harry," I whispered. "Never." I looked up to see Minerva, nodding at me. It was time to go. I let go of Harry and rose from our seat. "Remember, if you need me, just don't be afraid to contact me. I'll always be there for you, and I will never abandon you. Stay safe." I patted Harry's shoulder and walked away from him, wondering how long it would be until I saw him again.

* * *

Minerva and I walked along the corridor towards the entrance to Hogwarts, where my carriage was waiting. At least this time, I was leaving on my own terms.

"Could you say goodbye to Dobby for me?" I asked Minerva, realising I had not said goodbye to the house elf that was so happy at my return. I felt guilty, perhaps I should have told him goodbye? I sighed, it was too late now.

"Of course," Minerva replied with a nod. We reached the carriage at the entrance, and I turned to Minerva, putting my arms around her.

"Take care of Harry. He's struggling, Minerva."

"Of course." She patted my shoulder a few times before releasing herself from my grip. "Now, you, stay safe. Please. You know how dangerous it is becoming. There are people disappearing everyday, and because of your last name, you need to be extra cautious," Minerva told me with pleading eyes.

"She'll be fine!" We turned around to see Tonks approaching us. I smiled at my best friend, however she was still the same as she was the other day. Her hair was still a dirty brown, and she was looking very depressed. Had my talk done nothing? "Wotcher. We must really be going, Isabel," she said. I hugged Minerva quickly once more, then hopped into the carriage. I waved at Minerva once before Tonks hopped in the carriage next to me. Moments later, the carriage pulled away.

I had changed. Hogwarts was not my home anymore. I was foolish to think everything was still going to be the same.

* * *

**A/N: This really was the chapter to make you all realise that the old Isabel is gone for good. She's a different person now, and she has really been shaped by Sirius' death. This doesn't mean the new Isabel is all depressed and sad all the time - you'll see a much different side to her in upcoming chapters!**

**GUYS, THERE IS A NEW TRAILER FOR THIS FANFIC! Tell me what you think of it in your review!  
www . youtube watch?v=2YgGIz -A6RU  
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**Next Chapter:  
**"You're back!" Andromeda exclaimed. She jumped out of her seat and ran towards me, throwing her arms around me. Ted, who was sitting next to her, followed suit, and moments later, I was in the middle of a Tonks sandwich, Andromeda on one side of me, Ted on the other, hugging me tightly. At that moment, I knew I had made the right decision. I was home.


	92. Stuck Here

**Thanks to: TheDiva121, HPFan, ariapyrasyria, LaFlorine and ZabuzasGirl for your reviews. [Where have the rest of my wonderful reviewers gone? Guys, I know you're reading, I see the story traffic! Just slip a little review at the end!]**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
**__**Holocene by Bon Iver**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I pulled the trunk up the front steps, opened the door and pulled it into the house. Once it was inside, I dumped it on the floor, making a very loud noise. I walked into the kitchen, where Andromeda and Ted were both sitting down, starting at me in surprise.

"You're back!" Andromeda exclaimed. She jumped out of her seat and ran towards me, throwing her arms around me. Ted, who was sitting next to her, followed suit, and moments later, I was in the middle of a Tonks sandwich, Andromeda on one side of me, Ted on the other, hugging me tightly. At that moment, I knew I had made the right decision. I was home. Ted and Andromeda released me from the grip, and I was able to breathe again after a few seconds of being squashed. "Why aren't you at Hogwarts teaching?"

"Father and Professor Dumbledore both thought it'd be best for me to come home," I told them, smiling. I was happy. I didn't have anything to stress over anymore. Finally, I could just be.

"We're glad to have you back, sweetheart," Ted told me. "Did you see Dora at all? I know she's been stationed at Hogsmeade."

"Yes, how is she?" Andromeda asked. I sighed, not knowing whether to tell them the truth about how Tonks is. Would it worry them more? No, they deserved to know. They were her parents.

"She's...not great." Andromeda's smile turned into a frown. She knew her daughter was struggling, and I could tell what effect it was having on her. I wished that I could make Tonks better, and happy again, but I couldn't, and that hurt. "She's very down at the moment. She's going about her job fine, but she's just really struggling."

"Is there anything we could do for her?" Ted asked.

"I doubt it. We just have to leave her be and let her come good in her own time. She's strong enough."

"Well, we're so happy to have to back," Andie said, kissing my head. "Are you hungry? Do you need anything?"

"I think I'll just go upstairs and unpack all of my things. Then, perhaps, I might go to the Burrow."

"Anything you want," Andromeda replied with a smile. I smiled back, showing them both how happy I was to be back here. It may have looked strange to anyone else, that I was so comfortable here, but I had known Andromeda for years, and Tonks since I was young. I trusted the whole Tonks family. Tonks was my sister, Ted was a father figure and Andie was the mother that I didn't have. In all honesty, I was simply lucky. I just wished that I had the same type of family Tonks had when I was growing up. I realised when I was around Andromeda, Ted and Tonks that I had missed out on so much. I walked up the stairs and to my room to see it was just the way I had left it. Suddenly, my bags appeared from nowhere. Andie probably sent them up. I sat on the bed and breathed in deeply. I had been thinking so much lately, this was my first moment to just...be. I laid back on the bed and looked towards the ceiling. The worst thing about not having a job was obviously that I would have no work to do. I didn't like doing nothing - I didn't want to feel useless. Maybe the Order would have something for me to do?

* * *

"Bonjour!" I called out, opening the front door. I walked in to see Fleur, Molly, Bill, Arthur, Fred and George sitting around the table, in a heated discussion. "Did I interrupt something?" I asked as they all stared at me, shock written all over their faces. I had been through this all before. I didn't know what to do as they stayed silent. Was I supposed to sit with them, say something, or maybe even leave? "Er - should I be going then?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, no!" Molly exclaimed, rising from her seat and practically running towards me. "Sorry, I just think you gave us quite a shock! Why are you not at Hogwarts? Didn't you go back to teach?"

"I did, but it didn't work out," I told her. "Things happen. Besides, I thought it be best to be back here with all of you." I beamed at them, hoping they would ask no more questions by seeing that I was in a happy mood. "I honestly hope I didn't interrupt anything important!"

"Of course not," Bill said, with a forced looking smile. "We were just discussing the wedding!" Molly waved her wand, and an extra seat at the table appeared moments later. Molly led me over to the table and sat me down, then took her original seat. Fred smiled from across the table, and I sent a quick smile back to him. I was glad that I could spend some more time around him and George - they always could make me smile no matter the situation. I was thankful to have them in my life. I sat back in my chair and listened patiently to everyone else, not wanting to get stuck in the middle of an awkward situation.

"I think that perhaps a simple dress would suit the venue more," Molly said.

"Molly, eet eez my wedding day, and I will decide what I shall wear," Fleur spat back, her tone vicious towards the Weasley family matriarch. I knew that Molly didn't like Fleur, and now it was obviously getting to Fleur that her future husband's mother did not like her. It was upsetting to see that two important people in my life weren't getting along. If only Molly would give Fleur a chance and see past her looks and blunt nature. Maybe they would get along then?

"You don't want to even have the wedding here, do you?" Molly replied, her tone also becoming vicious. The two women were trading blows, attempting to seem sweet about it at the same time. Arthur, Bill, Fred, George and I sat back, each rolling our eyes at their pathetic fighting. Molly and Fleur continued to raise their voices, but I was finished. I was sick of their childish arguing over such a little subject.

"That's enough!" I shouted. Silence fell upon the table as Molly and Fleur paused, turning to me. "What is wrong with both of you? You're fighting over something that is supposed to be wonderful and joyous." I patted Molly's arm and smiled, softening her for the blow I was about to deliver. "Molly, I say this with a lot of love and respect, but this is Fleur's wedding. What Fleur wants, she should have. A wedding is supposed to be a celebration of two people that are in love. You need to respect Fleur's decision, as she is the bride, and it is her day." Molly sat back in her seat, her head lowered. As much as she did not like Fleur, she knew I was right. Fleur's wedding was not about what Molly wanted.

"At least some women have their head screwed on right," Fred said. Bill, Arthur and George all laughed, whilst Fred smirked and winked at me. I looked away from him, my cheeks becoming hot. I closed my eyes and shook it off. This was Fred. Fred was my friend. Molly sighed, rose from her chair and left the room quickly. Did I embarrass her? Fleur watched her leave, then smiled at the boys in the room and patted down her skirt. I did not know if it was a smile of satisfaction or a smile of guilt.

"Shall we continue?" Fleur asked, picking up her quill.

* * *

I stood in the kitchen, holding a cup of tea by both hands, reflecting on the past few hours I had spent with Fleur. I had never seen a person so certain about what they wanted in a wedding, but Fleur always knew what she wanted, even when she was a little girl. She had always dreamed of her wedding day being perfect. When Sirius proposed to me, I knew how she felt. All these ideas ran through my head about what kind of wedding we would have, who we would invite, what dress I would wear. There were so many ideas that ran through my head in the first two hours of being engaged. But of course, none of those ideas never worked out. I wasn't even engaged for twenty four hours.

"Hey," a voice said from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Fred, a smile plastered on his face.

"Hey," I replied, a small smile appearing on my own face. Fred's smile was infectious, ad he passed on his happiness with whoever he was around.

"Mum's not angry at you," Fred told me as I took another sip of my tea. This surprised me, as I thought she was very angry with me. She hadn't stepped back in the house since what I said to her. She was outside in the garden, ruthlessly pulling out the weeds. "She just doesn't like it when she is proved wrong, especially by other women."

"I just don't understand why she doesn't like Fleur."

"She and Ginny are intimidated by her veela genes."

"Then why she isn't intimidated by mine? I don't get it, Fred." I finished my tea, then placed the tea cup next to the sink where Molly did the dishes.

"Fleur is different to you. Her nature is quite blunt, and sometimes she needs to be more reserved. I think Mum just doesn't like how open she is with saying how she feels." Now I could understand where Molly was coming from. Fleur's blunt nature could definitely put people off. "So, why exactly are you here and not at Hogwarts? And I'm sure it has something to do with more than what your father and Dumbledore said to you." Fred could see right through me. It was somewhat frightening how well he knew me.

"Well, I was really unstable when I got there. Seeing Harry really shook me, and then one day, I snapped. I walked out of the first class after yelling at Father - "

"Wow, learning from the best!" Fred said, obviously meaning himself. I rolled my eyes at him and continued talking.

"I then got a bunch of letters...from Sirius. They were to be my wedding present. That just sent me overboard, I couldn't do it anymore. I knew I needed to be around people that could love and care for me a lot more than anyone there could. I guess, in that way, I'm lucky that I can come back her and be surrounded by people that I love. It makes my day worth it."

"I guess I can speak for all of us when I say we're happy to have you back home, where you belong," Fred told me, his smile still plastered on his face.

* * *

Not wanting to go back to the Tonks house just yet, I had one more stop to make on my day out. I didn't want to be stuck back at the Tonks house - I always wanted to have something to do. I arrived back in a place I knew all too well. Some of my best, and worst, memories happened at this small cottage. I walked to the front door and knocked on it twice. I knew that this was one place I would never be judged, and one place I could always go to find a friend. Moments later, the door opened.

"Hey," I said with a smile, looking up at him. He looked incredibly shocked to see me standing on his doorstep, but I didn't blame him. He also knew I was supposed to be at Hogwarts. "Happy to see me?"

Remus stared back at me, obviously having no idea what to say. He shook his head, obviously in an attempt to shake the surprise off. "What are you - "

"Yeah, I know, shocking that I'm here, isn't it? May I come in?" I asked him. He nodded, his face still full of shock. He stepped out of the way, and I walked through the front door and into the bright, open living room. "Before you ask for the full story, I'm going to cut it short. I decided to resign from my post at Hogwarts because Hogwarts is not home anymore. It isn't where I need to be." I sat down in the seat on the left hand side of the room next to the window. "Now, we need to speak about Tonks," I told him. "She's a mess, Remus."

Remus sighed, slipped his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "She deserves better than me." I sent him a stern look as he sat down next to me.

"That's a terrible excuse, Remus. You said that to me, and I didn't care. She doesn't either, and I can tell you like her. She likes you, a lot. I can't see what the problem is."

"I do like her, she's a wonderful girl, but as I said I cannot go any further with her. I don't want to risk hurting her as I hurt you in the past."

"No, don't you dare bring me into this. Tonks is entirely different to me. She is a lot stronger than me, Remus, and I do not want you to do this to her. It is so unfair to bring me into this, Remus. Our relationship is completely different to yours and Tonks."

"What about me being a werewolf?"

"You're making too many excuses when the fact is, you having nothing to hide with her. She is willing to accept you, in every way. Just like I was." The room fell silent. We had not talked about our relationship ever since the moment I picked Sirius over him. That moment was truly a hard thing to do, as I was completely in love with Remus as well as being in love with Sirius. I used to think love triangles were just a thing of literature, until it happened to me. Perhaps this was the reason for Remus holding back? Maybe we had unresolved issues, lying deep beneath the surface? "Remus, is the reason you're not pursuing a relationship with Tonks because of me?"

"I haven't thought about it, but perhaps, yes, that may be part of it." No, this wasn't the right time to be talking about this. Remus and I were just getting back on track as friends, we didn't need to make things awkward. I looked around the room, remembering the last time I had been in this house. It was one of those times where it was so wrong, but it felt right.

"It feels strange, me being here. The last time I was here, Sirius was still alive."

"Do you miss him?" Remus asked, his tone softening.

"Every minute of every day," I replied. I could sweep it all under the carpet, but the truth was, there wasn't going to be a day that would go by where I didn't think of Sirius. "How about you?" Remus turned his back to me and walked towards his mantle piece. He picked up a picture frame and passed it to me. It was a picture of when Sirius and Remus were young.

"I look at this picture every day, and I talk to it, hoping one day, just one, he might respond." Remus stared at my expression. Was Remus going insane? "I know, it's ridiculous. It's a picture frame, for Merlin sakes. But, I still hope. I've lost James and Sirius, both my best friends, my brothers. Sometimes I think I'm alone without them here. They were the only family I had left." Remus sat back down next to me and took my hand. "We can pretend to the rest of the world that we're okay, but we'll never be okay again. We may have let go, but we still mourn. I would give simply anything to see him one more time. To say goodbye." I sniffed and wiped a tear, then moved closer to Remus and rested my head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Remus."

"As am I." We sat in silence. He held me in his arms as I stayed close to him, still holding his hand. It was moments like these where I truly appreciated the fact I had Remus in my life, no matter what role he was playing.

"I love you, Remus," I whispered, squeezing his hand and smiling, even whilst I still cried.

"I love you too, Isabel," he replied, kissing my head softly.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up! And look, let's be honest, it's not the best. I had a bit of writer's block and I'm pushing myself to get through it. I do apologise though. Next chapter however, I hope you enjoy. I have a feeling a lot of you will like it.**

**_And _I've finished the epilogue to this story, so I know just how it ends! Muhahahaha!**

**Tumblr:  
****bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**If you haven't checked out the new trailer for the fanfiction, head over to the tumblr to see it!**

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

I heard Fred clear his throat from behind me, so I turned around quickly, scared that I had done something wrong. That was, until, he pulled out a bouquet of flowers. He passed them to me, a cautious look upon his face. I took the flowers from him and held them in my arms, staring down at them as if they were a newborn baby.

"White roses," I said, looking down at the flowers with a smile. They were truly beautiful, and my favourite of all. How did Fred know that my favourite flowers were white roses? Intuition? I was so surprised and flattered.

"I hope you like them, I was - "

"They're absolutely beautiful," I interrupted, cutting him off. He did not need to stress anymore, especially over me. "My favourite's actually," I told him, letting out a quiet laugh. "Thank you so much. They're absolutely gorgeous."

* * *

Bill and I led the pack, Fleur in the middle, Fred and George at the back. I guess Bill and I took charge because we were the eldest, and we had more experience than the other three.

We turned a corner, and froze. Our worst nightmare had come true. Four people, standing in long black robes stood opposite us, their wands at the ready. They had heard us coming. Death Eaters.


	93. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

**Thanks to: Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, ariapyrasyria and HPFan for your reviews. [3 reviews guys, only 3? Really? Come on, I know people are reading this! Take 30 seconds out of your day to leave a review**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
**__**Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [New Theme! See Tumblr]  
**__**Say (All I Need) by OneRepublic  
**__**Hearing Damage by Thom Yorke**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

I had promised myself that I wouldn't lock myself back at home, and I had kept that promise for a week. Ever since going to the Burrow and Remus' house last week, I had been succeeding at my mission. I even found myself in a muggle bookshop in London one day. I was able to buy two books with the muggle money Andromeda gave to me, and on the days where it didn't rain, I would sit in the magnificent fields outside and read the day away. Getting out of the house, even if it was stepping outside the front door, helped me keep my sanity. Today, I had found myself at Gringotts, waiting around for Bill and Fleur while they finished their work. Afterwards, we were going to the Burrow for dinner.

"You know where we should head before going back to Mum's?" Bill asked, putting his arm around Fleur. "The joke shop. Fred and - "

"Joke shop?" I interrupted, surprised. I knew what the joke shop was, it was just surprising that it was still open. Besides, wouldn't all their customers, students, be back at Hogwarts? How were they still running in the current climate? It was incredible, really. Taking into account all factors, their store should have been shut long ago.

"Fred and George's shop in Diagon Alley," Bill told me.

"I know what it is, Bill. I'm just stunned. I cannot believe it is still running. Is it even making a profit, considering everything that's happening? I thought many of the shops had been shut down or abandoned because of the threat to them?" The threat was also something I was now worried about. Fred, George and I had grown a lot closer over the past few months, especially Fred and I. I didn't want him to get hurt, ever.

"Fred and George should be finishing up soon anyway, and it'd probably be safer getting home with two more wands with us." Well, it sounded like we were heading to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I didn't know whether to be excited, or whether to be nervous.

* * *

I walked into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and couldn't believe my eyes. This place was so full of colour, it was incredibly bright and vibrant. It was unbelievable that it was still running when the rest of Diagon Alley was...nothing. The inside was even more alive than the outside of the shop. And, contrary to my beliefs, there were customers in the shop. Not as many as there would be during the holiday periods, but there were customers nevertheless. I looked to my left, and to my right...there was not one object that was not colourful or jumped out at you. Fred and George were not stupid - they had come up with all this marvelous work. I just could not believe my eyes. I was so impressed and proud with what the two had achieved.

"Isabel Snape." I turned around to see who had said my name. I beamed when I saw a smiling Fred Weasley standing in front of me. "I have to admit, I am quite surprised to see you here. I always thought jokes weren't your thing. You are a Snape, after all. Your Father never liked my jokes, and Georgie's. Always thought we were pests."

"Hello, Mr. Weasley," I said with a smile. "And how am I not surprised that Father did not like your jokes. He doesn't like much, really." I looked around the shop again, a beaming smile still gracing my face. "This is incredible, Fred. Do you have any idea how impressed I am? You and George are just completely amazing."

"Oh, stop. We make a living off joking around, we're not really amazing."

"Yes, you are," I told him. I wanted to press the issue. It wasn't just his talent that was amazing, it was him as a person. He was patient and caring, exactly what I needed just after Sirius' death. He had been so good to me when people were abandoning me. He understood what I was feeling, and he understood my needs Then there was my birthday when he brought Gabrielle over from France as my birthday present. I was just in awe of Fred Weasley.

"Hey Isabel!" George said loudly, appearing from behind me. "So, like our little business venture?"

"Like it? I simply love it, George. It's absolutely brilliant!"

"Hmm, that coming from a Hogwarts professor?" George asked, his eyebrow raised. I laughed and shook my head at him.

"I'm not a Hogwarts professor anymore, so there is no need to be using that against me now is there?"

"I suppose not!" Suddenly, a scream was heard from the other side of the shop. Fred, George and I all jumped at the same time, but relaxed when we heard cheerful laughter coming the same place. Seconds later, Bill and Fleur ran out from that corner, laughing and playing around with some of Fred and George's contraptions. "Merlin's Beard, they gave me a heart attack. You'd think in times like these, people like them would be a whole lot more considerate."

"Bill, considerate? Tell me, Georgie, you don't hear them at night, do you?"

"What, yelling, pounding against the - "

"Wow, boys, stop," I interrupted them, not wanting them to go any further. "Yeah, I don't really want the mental image of my sister and my best friend doing...that...let's not go there, shall we?" Fred and George both laughed at me, and George pat me on the arm twice.

"Oh, trust me, it gets worse in here," George told me with a smirk. I shuddered as he took his hand from my arm and walked away to help customers that had just entered the store.

"Hey, do you wanna go for a walk? I can show you the parts of the shop only special people are allowed to see?" Fred asked, the grin returning to his face. Special people? Well, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

"Let's go then."

* * *

We walked through two large doors that led into the back of the store. The back was just like the front, there were stacks of different, quirky objects lying around everywhere. After seeing the front of the store, I thought it was going to be hard to be top how truly impressed I was by what Fred and George had achieved. I was wrong. This was even more impressive. I heard Fred clear his throat from behind me, so I turned around quickly, scared that I had done something wrong. That was, until, he pulled out a bouquet of flowers. He passed them to me, a cautious look upon his face. I took the flowers from him and held them in my arms, staring down at them as if they were a newborn baby.

"White roses," I said, looking down at the flowers with a smile. They were truly beautiful, and my favourite of all. How did Fred know that my favourite flowers were white roses? Intuition? I was so surprised and flattered.

"I hope you like them, I was - "

"They're absolutely beautiful," I interrupted, cutting him off. He did not need to stress anymore, especially over me. "My favourite's actually," I told him, letting out a quiet laugh. "Thank you so much. They're absolutely gorgeous." I couldn''t believe he got me flowers. Why would he go to such lengths for me? "So, I guess I have a question to ask - how are you still operating in here? Surely it isn't bringing in much of a profit?"

"It's not, but Georgie and I aren't in it for the money, Isabel. We never have been. And we're still doing mail orders, so that helps with it a little bit. To be honest with you, I'm more concerned about the safety of the place. If Death Eaters ever find out we're working with the Order..."

"You just have to make sure they don't find out, then." Of course they'd eventually find out, I just hoped it was after this shop was closed. I didn't want to think what it would be like if I lost Fred too. He was the one who helped me regain my sanity.

"Er, Isabel, I have a question for you too." Fred looked increasingly nervous. I swore I could even see some sweat on his forehead. "Um, well, the question is, would you...like to go to dinner with me?" Did Fred just ask me out on a date? What happened to just being friends? But of course, he gave me flowers, what did I expect? And everything that happened at my birthday? Fred had feelings for me, it was obvious. But what were mine for him? Perhaps this dinner would be a way to work it out?

"Okay," I replied with a small smile on my face. "I'll go to dinner with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," I told him, nodding. I wasn't leading him on by agreeing with him, I was simply going to find out where I stood in all of this.

* * *

It was time to head back to the Burrow for dinner, so Bill, Fleur and I waited outside whilst Fred and George closed the shop. Diagon Alley was dark, and eerie at this time. I would be lying if I said I was not somewhat frightened. I had heard what Knockturn Alley was like - it seemed like Diagon Alley was becoming more and more like that. Fred and George closed the doors behind them, then George turned around and did the last couple of protective enchantments that would protect their shop overnight.

"Ready to go?" Fred said.

"C'mon, Mum will be worried sick if we don't get going soon," Bill told him. Fred and George nodded, and we all took our wands out and held them in front of us. We began to walk down the pathway, gripping our wands. We had to be cautious, who knew what could pop out at any second? These were the times that I was thankful to be a Snape - I was able to fight Dark Arts with Dark Arts. Father had taught me a few handy spells that Death Eaters would not expect to be coming from a young woman such as me. Bill and I led the pack, Fleur in the middle, Fred and George at the back. I guess Bill and I took charge because we were the eldest, and we had more experience than the other three.

We turned a corner, and froze. Our worst nightmare had come true. Four people, standing in long black robes stood opposite us, their wands at the ready. They had heard us coming. Death Eaters. I could not identify them, as I had never seen them before. None of them were in the Department of Mysteries, that was for sure. It was tense. Nobody moved, and the Death Eaters did not give anything away. Were they going to attack? Were they going to disapparate? Suddenly, one flicked their wand and shot a curse my way. I blocked it and sent one back. All hell broke lose. Fred and George took on one Death Eater, Fleur another, Bill another, and then there was me. I shot spell after spell at this Death Eater, who did not look like giving up anytime soon. Fleur screamed out, and as much as it pained me not to look, I couldn't, or I would die.

"FLEUR, WHERE ARE YOU?" Bill screamed out. I had no idea what had happened to my sister, but I couldn't turn her way. I was absolutely terrified that something had happened to her. Fred and George both yelled out for Bill, but now Bill was not replying. I had to finish this quickly so I could help my sister...if she was still with us.

"Sectumsempra!" I said quickly. The Death Eater fell to the ground, holding their stomach as blood began to pour out. I turned to my left to see a pile of crates, with a person underneath. It was Fleur. The Death Eater she was battling, had gone. The two other Death Eaters saw their counterpart on the ground, turned to each other and disapparated in a hurry. I fell to my knees next to the crates and started to pick them up and throw them off her, one by one. I could have used magic, but I didn't want the crates to break and hurt her even more. Bill also threw crate after crate off, until we finally got to Fleur. I pulled her away from the crates and held her in my arms.

"What happened?" I asked her, brushing her hair out of her face.

"I do not know," she replied, breathing rapidly, shaking her head. "I was 'it by a jinx zat sent a shock through my whole body." It must have been a powerful curse, as I had never seen Fleur this way before. She looked like she was on the brink of collapsing. We needed to get her somewhere safe immediately.

"Come on, we need to go. It's not safe here."

* * *

I opened the front door of the Burrow so Bill could easily carry Fleur into the house. Fred, George and I followed him, watching him place Fleur back down on the couch. I sat next to her and stroked her hair. She looked absolutely exhausted, but who wouldn't be after getting ...

"Oh, good, you're all - " Molly began, walking into the room. However, she stopped when she saw us gathered around Fleur, the smile no longer on her face. "Arthur!" She called out, still staring at Fleur. "What happened to her?"

"Death Eaters," I told Molly. Molly's face lost all its colour as she stared at me in shock. Arthur then appeared from behind Molly, also stopping when his eyes connected with Fleur.

"Arthur..." Molly whispered. "It's happened. They've hit us. All this time, we've thought that perhaps we're safe. Arthur, what's going to happen?" Arthur passed Molly and knelt down next to Fleur. I had never seen Arthur so...worried.

"What happened?"

"She said the curse sent a shock through her whole body. Arthur, what does this mean?" I asked. I was anxious. I had never really contemplated fighting Death Eaters in the middle of a public street before. All the fighting had been done behind closed doors, away from the rest of Wizarding society. Everything was adding up. The auror's around Hogwarts, Dumbledore's warning, Death Eaters in the nightclub...and now this. I had never considered this war to be serious, until now. I didn't know whether to be scared or calm. What role was I going to be playing? I took a deep breath in. I had to be here for Fleur, not panicking over what was going to happen to me.

"What do I need to do for her, Dad?" Bill asked his Father, his worried expression telling the whole story. Arthur got up from his position next to Fleur and turned to his eldest son.

"Rest. That should be it." I sighed, staring down at my little sister. We were lucky this time around.

* * *

After finishing dinner, Fred agreed to accompany me home. Even though it was just a quite apparition, Molly insisted that after what happened earlier this evening, that I needed someone with me. I said my goodbye's to Molly, Arthur, George, Bill and Fleur. I kissed my sleeping sister on the head, hoping rest would do her good. A part of me wanted to send her back to France, to protect her from this war. She was too fragile to stay, but to stubborn to leave. I would not force anything upon my younger sister. It was her choice whether she wanted to stay or not. She was an adult, she could make her own decisions.

Fred shut the door behind him, and we walked away from the house. It was a beautiful night. It was somewhat crisp and cold, but beautiful. The moon and stars were shining down on us.

"Oh, damn!" I said, realising that I had left my bunch of white roses at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"What's the matter?"

"My roses, they're still at the store. I forgot to bring them with me!" Fred laughed off my worrying and reached down for my hand, gripping it in his. I stared down at our entwined fingers, before apparating away from the Burrow only moments later.

* * *

"Here we are," Fred said as we arrived on the dirt road, just outside my house. "Back at the Tonks house. Do you like it here?" I smiled and nodded at Fred. I couldn't think of a better place for me. I had two people that acted as if I was their own child looking after me here, and a best friend that doubled as a sister. How lucky could a girl get? "So, dinner. Next week sound okay? Wednesday night, perhaps?" I almost forgot about Fred's dinner proposal. This puzzle was also starting to come together. The corset strings, carrying me back to my room, the roses, the dinner...they all fit. Only one piece was missing - me. I didn't know how I felt.

"Wednesday sounds nice," I told Fred, a small smile on my face. "Where should we meet?"

"I'll pick you up," he said. "I want where we're going to be a surprise." Surprises were romantic. I groaned internally. I didn't want to lead him on. We walked up to the front door, and it was time to say my goodnight. I hugged Fred quickly, giving him a small squeeze. I was appreciative of all he had done for me, but I wasn't sure that I wanted the same thing he did. "Goodnight, Isabel," he said quietly.

"Goodnight, Fred," I whispered. I opened the door, smiled one last time, then walked inside and shut the door behind me. What had I gotten myself into?

* * *

**A/N: So, what do you think's going to happen? Did you like the action in this chapter? I just wanted you to all get a sense of how the war is going to start changing Isabel.**

**Come on guys, review! Anything you want to review, just say it. Like what you want to see, what you're unhappy with - anything at all!**

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**Next Chapter:**

"So, Fred's taking you out to dinner, is he?" Andie asked, walking into the kitchen and setting down her newspaper on the table. We had already gone over this last night! I guess she just wanted to prepare me for what was coming a little more than she already had. Andie raised her eyebrows at me, suggestively. I rolled my eyes at Andromeda's immaturity.

"Come on, Andie, you know we're just going as friends." I was terrible at lying.

"But is that what Fred thinks?" I knew that it was the complete opposite of what Fred thought, and I knew that we weren't going as just friends. I had to work out what I felt for Fred too. Was he simply a friend, or was he more? No matter how tonight went, I could always confide in Andie. She knew what to do about all of this. Well, I hoped she knew.


	94. Tea with Brandy

**Thanks to: silverdragon2010, xXChaosForeverXx, IcyRose66 (times 2), Narnia and Harry Potter Fan 4 EVER, TheDiva121 and Guest for your reviews. [That's more like it! Get those reviews back up to double figures, I know you can do it!]  
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_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Make It Without You by Andrew Belle**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

It had been a week since my visit to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, which meant tonight was the night. Tonight was the night I would be going to dinner with Fred. It felt weird saying that to myself. I had to work out tonight how I felt about him, and whether my feelings were strong enough to act on. I was not going to put myself through another Remus situation. I had to be clear with Fred about everything. I made that mistake with Remus and lost him for months. I wasn't prepared to lose Fred.

"So, Fred's taking you out to dinner, is he?" Andie asked, walking into the kitchen and setting down her newspaper on the table. We had already gone over this last night! I guess she just wanted to prepare me for what was coming a little more than she already had. Andie raised her eyebrows at me, suggestively. I rolled my eyes at Andromeda's immaturity.

"Come on, Andie, you know we're just going as friends." I was terrible at lying.

"But is that what Fred thinks?" I knew that it was the complete opposite of what Fred thought, and I knew that we weren't going as just friends. I had to work out what I felt for Fred too. Was he simply a friend, or was he more? No matter how tonight went, I could always confide in Andie. She knew what to do about all of this. Well, I hoped she knew.

"I hope I'm not leading him on," I said, looking down. Fred was too precious to me, I never wanted to hurt his feelings.

"You aren't, if you have feelings for him," Andie told me.

"Andie, I don't know what I feel."

Andie sighed at me, realising that I was at a dead end. I was surrounded by all these different feelings, and they were beginning to shut me down, bit by bit. I needed to find out what I felt. "Do you want me to give you some advice?"

"Please."

"See how tonight goes." That's what I was planning on doing. She wasn't giving me any useful advice at the moment. "Is this the first time you two have been in a situation where feelings have surfaced or - "

"No, it's not the first time." Andromeda's eyes widened. This was obviously a shock to her. Why is she so surprised? It's not like this is the first time we've ever spent time with each other. "Please, Isabel, explain!"

"At my birthday, he carried me back up to my room, and then I asked him to undo my corset strings - "

"You what?" She gasped, holding her hand to her chest. "Isabel, that is not very conventional for a young woman like yourself to do! What would your father say? You let a man undo your corset strings! Please don't tell me it went further than that...please..."

"No, it didn't. He said goodnight, just as a gentleman would," I told her. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was strange how Andie rebelled against the House of Black, but now she's acting like it's the biggest sin to have a man to undo your corset strings! "Andie..."

"Yes, darling?"

"When Fred was undoing my corset strings, his hand brushed against my bare skin, and it felt like he was touching every nerve in my body. I had never experienced something as incredible as that. I just - "

"How can you say you have no feelings for him when that is the way you react to a simple touch?" Andie asked. She was right. How would I react if he kissed me? I shuddered just thinking about it.

"How do I know if that's just sexual attraction or something more?"

"When his touch makes you feel like that, it is not just simply sexual attraction. I feel like you have a connection to him that is just, perhaps, unique and unbreakable."

"I don't know, Andie!"

"Well, that's why tonight will be the perfect way for you to find out!" At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Andie smiled at me, raising her eyebrows. "Perfect timing, darling! Now, you look perfect! I won't go and warn him to keep his hands off you. However, I will wish you luck." Andie walked over to me, kissed my head and smiled once more. "I hope you're able to sort everything out. Don't be pressured into anything you do not want to feel." She walked out of the room, leaving me to go to the door. I walked towards the front of the house and opened the front door to reveal Fred, wearing what he would usually wear. I was thankful I did not dress up for the occasion and humiliate myself.

"Hey," Fred said, grinning down at me. It was only then I realised that he was holding a bunch of white roses in his hands. "I got you a new bouquet, seeing as you left yours back at the store." I took flowers from his arms and held them up to my nose. They smelled absolutely divine. I placed them on the table behind the door, knowing Andie would find them eventually and place them into a vase.

"They're beautiful, like always. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, are you ready to leave?" I nodded in reply. Fred held his arm out to me, and I took it cautiously, stepping out of the house with him.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll have to see," Fred replied before smirking, and apparating away.

* * *

We arrived in a deserted field, under a single tree. There were bright little lights, scattered all around the tree. I then looked down. There was a picnic rug, a picnic basket and pillows resting against the trees. Fred had definitely gone out of his way to impress me, and I didn't know how to react. It was absolutely beautiful, there was no doubt, and I was flattered that Fred would go to this sort of effort for me. I sat down on the rug against the pillows and looked into the picnic basket. Elf made wine, and some of Molly's famous home cooked food were placed in there carefully.

"Wow, Fred, this is - "

"Too much?" Yes.

"No, not at all." There goes my lying mouth, yet again. Of course it was too much! I was only using this night to find out how I felt about him. "It's wonderful," I told him with a small smile. It was truly wonderful, but for in the situation I was in, it only made it a whole lot more complicated. How could I not lead him on when he obviously thinks we're serious enough to go and do this?

"It is too much," he said, sitting down next to me. "I saw the look on your face when you first saw it."

"Hey, it's fine," I told him, touching his arm and laughing. "Don't stress. I'm amazed you'd go to this trouble for me."

"It's not trouble when it's for you, you know that." We sat there in silence, smiling at each other. Maybe it was this simplicity we had between us that would make us great together? Maybe that's why I was even pondering the idea of us? My thoughts began to get me nervous. What if I didn't feel anything after tonight for Fred? Would he be angry? I had to stop and needed to live for now. I was so afraid of what may happen in the future, that I was getting sidetracked. I just needed to enjoy myself tonight. I grabbed out a slice of Molly's cake that she had put in the basket and took a bite.

"Molly is a brilliant cook," I said after swallowing my first bite. "This is incredible."

"Yeah, Mum's good like that."

"How has she been since we had that whole Death Eater run in?" I couldn't imagine someone like Molly simply letting it slide. I was amazed that she was still allowing Fred and George to keep the shop open. She had a reason to worry, though. We all did. We knew he was getting stronger by the moment. We needed to be cautious.

"She's been keeping us on a tight leash, that's for sure," Fred told me.

"She has a good reason."

"But it seems like she still sees George and I as babies."

"She doesn't, Fred. She's just a mother that is going to have a very tough time over the course of this war. She's worried sick, every day, for all of you. I think you're lucky to have a mother that has always cared and that's been there since day one."

"You have Andromeda, don't you?"

"Andie is amazing. She definitely is like my mother, but I just want my real mother around sometimes, you know?" I sighed, looking down towards the ground. "My mother was brilliant when I was a child. But she always had this fear of her husband, and always had this fear that he'd find out I wasn't his one day. And then, one day, he did find out, and their relationship changed. He was abusive towards her, and she kept going back to him. She didn't have much time for me after that, and when I moved to Father's, she never wrote, except for Christmas. Andie has become my mother, yes, but sometimes I just want my real mother there for me."

"I'm sorry," Fred said, pulling me close to him. "I didn't even know."

"Not many people do. It's not exactly something I make public knowledge." I leaned my head on his shoulder and looked out at the sunset over the field. It was brilliant. Beautiful. Simple. The moment was perfect. I looked up at Fred, who was also staring at the sunset. I knew I felt something for him. Whenever I looked at him, I knew. I just didn't know whether it was enough to act on it.

* * *

"This place is really beautiful," I said, staring at the long grass that moved with the light breeze. Fred nodded in agreement as we looked out at it. As the sun went down, the lights in the tree lit up the darkness. Somehow, in the darkness, it was even more beautiful. I took the elf made wine from the picnic basket and poured it in one of the glasses Fred had brought along. He had thought of absolutely everything that I loved. First it was white roses, then it was beautiful, deserted fields, and now, it was elf made wine.

"Where did you get this?" I asked after taking a sip. It was divine, and so much more different to the other wines I had tasted.

"Dad bought it for me when I turned seventeen, told me to save it for a special occasion."

"You should have saved it on someone more important then. Perhaps George would have liked it better?"

Fred frowned. "You don't like it." I wanted to hit myself in the head for saying that. I sounded so ungrateful for everything he had done for me. Stupid, Isabel, stupid.

"No, no! I love it! It's beautiful! It's just - "

"It's too much." It was no use lying to him now, he knew. He knew it was too much.

"I just, Fred, everything with you has been so amazing. I am so thankful to have you in my life, and you have been so good to me at a time when others couldn't be bothered with me anymore. I want to be honest with you here, I know you feel something for me." Fred's expression said it all, it was true. He did feel something for me, I just didn't know how deep those feelings were. "But, I don't know how I feel about you. I've had such a complicated love life, Fred. I hurt Sirius very badly when we were together because I couldn't sort out my feelings for Remus. I don't want to do that to you, I don't want to not sort out my feelings and leave you hanging."

"I'm not going to push you into anything, Isabel," Fred said, shaking his head. "You know where I stand with you, and you know how I feel." I sighed. I wanted this all to go away. I just wanted for everything to be simple. Fred Weasley, if only everything didn't have to be complicated.

* * *

Fred and I arrived back at front stairs of my home. Things had been awkward for the rest of the night. We practically ate in silence. Perhaps honesty was not the best policy? I hated disappointing Fred so much. I knew how hard he worked to make everything perfect for the night. All I did was rip away everything he wanted, and i didn't do it very carefully. Luckily, Fred wasn't one to hold a grudge.

"Thank you for doing this. It was lovely. I apologise for being such horrible company. I'm not much of a jokester, I guess," I said with a quiet laugh. I didn't want to draw attention to how our evening ended.

"I guess I'll see you soon, then." Fred gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, then apparated. If his response was anything to go by, he was embarrassed and angry. I opened the front door and walked in the house, holding my hand to my head. I could hear footsteps coming towards me, and before I knew it, Andromeda had graced me with her presence.

"So, how'd it go?" She asked.

"I'm such an idiot, Andie," I told her. She laughed and put her arm around me, leading me into the kitchen.

"You look like you need a cup of tea," she said, sitting me down.

"Can you put a few drops of brandy in it, perhaps?"

"It can't have been that bad, Isabel."

"I was honest with him about how I felt - "

"How do you feel?"

"I don't know! And then he acted distant for the rest of the night! I'm so stupid, I should never have said anything!" I put my fingers to my temples and rubbed them, wanting this headache that had suddenly come on to disappear. "Andie, what if Fred and I are never the same again? I don't get why I can't figure out what I feel!" Andie sighed and placed a cup of tea on the table.

"Maybe you do know how you feel," she said as I took my first sip of tea. Thankfully, she listened to my request to have brandy in it. Alcohol and I, we had a special relationship. It knew how to make me feel better.

"But I don't - "

"Isabel, honestly, I've been where you are. Every woman has. Confusion over a man is normal, but usually, you do know where you stand, you just don't like to admit it." I put both hands around my tea and stood up. I just needed a good night's sleep.

"Bed time," I told Andie. I walked out of the kitchen, up the stairs and into my room as quickly as I could, so she wouldn't be able to catch me and lecture me even more. I placed the cup of tea on my bedside table, right next to the picture of Sirius and I. I picked it up and kissed it. It was my only visual reminder of him. It was special to me. I placed the picture back down, then stood up to undress myself, then dress myself again in my night clothes. Some say sleep helps you figure out confusion. I could only hope that was me.

* * *

**A/N: Short but sweet this time around, guys. 30 chapters left to go, guys! That'll fly by quickly, as I have many already written! Are you guys excited to see how everything pans out? Or are you guys really not wanting it to end?**

I do have a sequel in mind - it'll be complicated, and MUCH shorter, but I do have something in mind. Do you guys even want a sequel once this is over?  


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**Next Chapter:**

"Remus, I'm sorry, I can't." I pushed him back. I would always feel something for him, but our timing was off. We both felt something for other people, and us continuing this would not help us work out our feelings for the others. I loved him, but we couldn't. We had our chance, and we had hurt each other too much.

* * *

Another few weeks had passed. It had been long since I had that picnic dinner with Fred to sort out my feelings, and here I was, still pondering what I felt for him. It was awful what I was doing to him. I never wished for things to get this complicated, but then again, I never wished for Fred to have feelings for me. The world never asked me what I wished for. I needed to see him, though. Maybe seeing him would trigger something, some kind of feeling that could tell me what was happening to me.


	95. Transitions

**Thanks to: HPFan, IcyRose66, xXChaosForeverXx, ariapyrasyria & Narnia And Harry Potter 4 EVER for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Not by Cheyenne Mize  
Flowers for a Ghost by Thriving Ivory**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or its characters.**

* * *

I had realised that the full moon was approaching, and that meant Remus' transformation. It had hit me that he had been going through transformations without the wolfsbane potion - he had not been asking me for any, so as far as I knew, his transformations were very, very painful. So here I was, brewing wolfsbane potion. It was a good distraction from everything. I felt like sometimes, I was at my most comfortable when I was brewing something. I was a lot like Father. I knew he found peace whenever he was by himself, brewing something. It truly did clear the mind. So, I finished up brewing the potion that had been brewing for the past week, and poured it into a glass bottle. I would need to give it to Remus immediately, as the full moon was approaching.

* * *

I arrived at the small cottage that belonged to my best friend. I breathed in the fresh air. It was nice to be out here again. I always enjoyed being at Remus' - it was so peaceful. "Hey, Remus?" I called out, opening his front door and stepping into the house. The sound of footsteps filled the house, and soon enough, he appeared.

"Hi," he said, a surprised look on his face. When was he not surprised to see me? "What are you doing here?" I rolled my eyes at him, it was always the same questions. Why not just be happy that I'm here?

"Do I need a reason to see my best friend?"

"No, but you're here because you need me anyway." I then felt a little guilty, I always only visited when I needed something. My best friend. I definitely needed to work on that.

"I came to bring you this." I held out the small glass bottle in my hands. "Wolfsbane Potion. You hadn't asked for any in a while, and I just thought - "

"My transitions have been painful? It's true, they have been."

"Then why did you not ask me for any, Remus?" I rolled my eyes at his stupidity. What was it with men and not asking for things when they needed it? "What is wrong with you?" I sat down on the seat next to the window in the living room, Remus following my actions moments after.

"I didn't want to ask you for any because I knew you've been going through such a rough patch with Sirius' death, and then I could see you were slowly getting happier, and I didn't want to distract from that."

"You're joking, aren't you? Remus, you're my best friend, I'd always drop everything for you! Never do that again, do you understand? You can always come to me and just ask. I never want you going through something as painful as that ever again." He smiled at me, and my insides melted. It was the same as it was a few years ago. There wouldn't be one moment when his smile didn't affect me so greatly. I forced a cough to get myself out of this train of thought. "So, what have you been up to?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Sitting around here, waiting for the full moon," he replied as he opened the bottle of wolfsbane and began to drink it. "This should make the waiting more bearable. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"How are things with you? I've heard a certain Weasley has taken a shining to you?" That was the last thing I expected Remus to say - how did he know about Fred? He saw the look on my face and laughed. "Oh, come on, you don't think Molly hasn't noticed something and has started telling people about the little crush he has on you?"

"This is bad," I groaned, hitting my hand on my forehead.

"I think Molly is just happy to have you around more often. She really adores you, for some ridiculous reason," he told me with a wink. I was glad to see that around the full moon, Remus was still himself. This was the part that made me fall in love with him in the first place, the fact that he's able to be so warm and lighthearted. Sirius definitely influenced Remus in that department. "So, care to tell me about the whole Fred situation? I did see the way he was with you at your birthday celebration."

"There isn't much to tell."

"Well, that is a lie." I huffed and slid down in my seat.

"He has feelings for me, and I don't know how I feel."

"If I didn't know you well enough, I'd say you've been in this situation before with a certain somebody." Of course Remus would have found a way to inject our relationship into this conversation somehow. Remus saw the look on his face and held his arms up. "It was just an observation!" I laughed at him. I liked this Remus. He was so laid back at the moment. It surprised me, usually coming up to the full moon he was nothing but uptight.

"I miss you," I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder.

"But I'm right here with you?" He answered in a confused tone.

"No, I mean, we hardly see each other anymore. Last year, we saw each other nearly every day."

"That is because I was practically living with you." He kissed my head and smiled down at me. "I promise we'll see more of each other soon. It's a bit difficult at the moment, with the war and all. We shouldn't really be going places unless it's necessary."

"I'm sick of this war already," I huffed. Remus laughed at me, shaking his head.

"Oh, Isabel."

"What?"

"You're simply adorable, that is all." At that moment, something clicked. It was the same something that clicked that one night I was here - that one night that nearly ruined my relationship with Sirius. But Sirius wasn't here anymore. I didn't have to run and hide from my true feelings anymore. I was free to pursue whoever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and that included Remus. My hand went to his cheek, and I stared into his eyes. "Why is it, that after all this time, I still look at you and feel like I am in love?" Remus said softly.

"I don't know," I whispered back to him, before leaning up and pressing my lips to his. As the kiss became more heated, I realised what was happening. Yes, in a sense, this kiss felt right, but there was a powerful voice saying this was just so wrong. Tonks, my best friend, was in love with this man. And I had feelings for someone else, and I didn't know how strong those feelings were. However, as hard as I tried to pull myself away from him, I couldn't. I felt his hands slide off my jacket, and then he turned his attention to my shirt. As much as I didn't want to do it, I had to. I broke the kiss and sighed.

"Remus, I'm sorry, I can't." I pushed him back gently, away from me. "We can't." I moved back to where I was originally sitting, away from Remus.

"Dora?"

"I thought you liked her..."

"I do."

"Then why did we just do that?" I asked. I was angry with myself for letting me get that into it. Tonks could not know about this, she'd hate me.

"Because, even if we think in our minds that what we just did was wrong, did it feel in your heart that it was right?" He made perfect sense. If I listened to my heart, we would probably have been in the bedroom right now. Thankfully, though, my mind made more sense and I listened to it.

"Remus, we've had this talk before, but we have had so many chances to be together, and all we do is end up hurting either each other or other people. I love you, and I adore you, but we can never be together. Tonks, Remus, is who deserves you, not me. Tonks is head over heels for you, and I am not going to let myself be the person who gets in the way of your happiness." I brushed his cheek with my hand and smiled. "Our timing has just always been off."

"I suppose you're right. I apologise."

"No, don't, I initiated the kiss." I rose from my seat, Remus following my action seconds later. "I should be going." Remus' expression was heartbreaking. He looked completely lost. It was all because of me. I shouldn't have kissed him. What a stupid idea. I threw my arms around Remus and leaned my head on his chest. It felt like such a natural position to be in, but again, I couldn't give in. Remus was not mine. "I'll see you soon." I released him from my grip and left the house immediately. I needed to get out of there, for both of our sakes.

* * *

Another few weeks had passed. It had been long since I had that picnic dinner with Fred to sort out my feelings, and here I was, still pondering what I felt for him. To confuse myself even more, I had kissed Remus. That was the worst idea I had ever thought of. It only sent my feelings to be jumbled even more. It was awful what I was doing to Fred. I never wished for things to get this complicated, but then again, I never wished for Fred to have feelings for me. The world never asked me what I wished for. I needed to see him, though. Maybe seeing him would trigger something, some kind of feeling that could tell me what was happening to me. So it was decided, I needed to go to the Burrow. I picked up my coat and slipped it on, then walked out the door and disapparated on the spot.

* * *

"Isabel!" Molly exclaimed as I opened the front door. "What a lovely surprise! I am quite happy to see you, dear! Come in, come in!" She led me over to the table and sat me down, not letting me say a word as to why I was there. "We have so many things to discuss, Isabel!" We did? "The wedding, I need to get your opinion on your dress. Fleur sent me the sketch today and I want to show you how it looks." I rolled my eyes, Molly was wanting me to say something negative so she could contend with Fleur over this wedding. I loved Molly dearly, but she was acting like a child over this. Without wanting confrontation, I quickly changed the subject.

"Is Fred here?" I asked. Molly turned to me quickly, looking like something had just clicked inside of her.

"Fred? Oh, yes, he's up in his room. You should go and see him," she replied with a smile. Molly was doing a terrible job at pretending like she wasn't aware of her son's feelings for me. I quickly left the room and climbed the multiple stairs to get to Fred's room. The quicker I was able to get away from Molly and her wedding ranting, the better. I knocked on Fred's door as soon as I reached his room, and walked in slowly.

"Hello?" I called out softly.

"Isabel!" Fred got up from sitting on the floor and walked over to me. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Surprise!" I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I was bored at home, thought I could use some company."

"Well, I'm just sorting out a few products. Do you want to come and see?" I nodded eagerly, taking off my coat to sit down next to him on the floor. He picked up a small cube shaped piece of fudge and passed it to me. I held it up to my mouth, smelling it before I would taste it. "I wouldn't eat that." I put it back down on the floor as soon as he said that.

"What does it do?"

"It'll give you a bloody high fever. And the side effects are a bit disgusting. Pus filled boils appear, and don't even get me started about attempting to sit on a broom after eating one of those things."

"You tried one?" I asked, picking the piece of fudge up again.

"Someone had to test it!" He put one box of Skiving Snackboxes aside and placed an envelope on the front of it's packaging. Obviously it was one of their mail orders. "So, tell me, if you're so lonely, why did you even quit your job? At least at Hogwarts you'd have people around you, not that they're as fantastic as me," he said with a grin.

"I don't want to go back to Hogwarts," I sighed. "Not just yet. I'm not ready to face a few people." I picked up another 'sweet' from Fred and George's Skiving Snackbox and inspected it. It amazed me how these two came up with so many brilliant ideas. Each one had been thought our carefully, each intricate detail paid attention to. Fred and George definitely had a knack for creativity. I was so surprised that Fred had such time for me, considering his field of work. I was simply happy when he was around. Sure, I was getting better at handling myself on my own, but I knew that I was at my best when I had other people around me.

"Well, I'm happy having you here," he said, a small smile gracing his face. "I guess it just would be hard to be away from your father. Which is strange, because your father is a git to everyone else, but obviously to you he's - "

"Yes, I see the softer side to him, but he's still a git," I laughed. "But I don't think I'll be missing him too much. He doesn't make me laugh like you do. It's practically impossible to get my father to laugh, Fred. It's like he physically cannot bring himself to laugh." I laughed. "However, you are able to make me laugh and make me smile. That's rare that a person can give that to a Snape." Fred laughed and we both fell silent. There was so much tension in the room, I had not experienced anything like it since my birthday when Fred was undoing my corset strings. Not even when Remus and I kissed a few weeks ago, there was no tension build up in that. Suddenly, Fred leaned forward. I knew what was coming, but I had to make a decision. If I let him kiss me, did this mean I would have to admit that I had feelings for him? No, I didn't want this. Why did men kiss me when I did not want them to? I turned away so my cheek faced Fred. Fred kissed me on the cheek, then pulled back and sighed. My head fell as I looked towards the ground.

"I'm sorry, Fred," I whispered, looking up at him. His face was just heartbreaking. He looked completely defeated. "I can't."

"I understand," Fred replied with a curt nod. "What was I thinking?" He hit himself in the head, but I grabbed his hand before he could do anything else. Why would he hurt himself over a silly little kiss? Surely I was not worth it anyway? He stared down at our hands, then pulled his away, sighing again. I knew what he wanted from me, and I knew there was a part of me that wanted to give what he wanted to him, but I just couldn't.

"Don't beat yourself up. It's me, it's not you," I said, trying to make him feel better. My attempt was unsuccessful.

"I get it, Isabel. It's fine," he answered quickly, not even wanting to look at me.

"It's not fine, I've hurt you."

"I was stupid. I shouldn't have tried anything with you. Excuse me." Fred stood up and left the room swiftly. I watched him walk away from me and my face fell into my hands.

* * *

"Fred?" I said softly, opening the door to small garage. I had never been in here before, but I knew it's use as soon as I stepped inside. This was where Arthur kept all his funny little muggle objects. I weaved my way around all of them to get to the very corner of the garage, where Fred sat, playing with a small muggle artifact.

"I'm sorry," he said, not looking up at me. I sighed and touched my hand to his cheek, turning his face towards mine.

"No, stop. Do not apologise. I need to be honest with you about my feelings, because lying and hiding from them. The truth is, Fred, I'm still very damaged from Sirius' death, and I always will be, but these past few months where you have dropped everything to look after me and make me happy again, I am so grateful for. But, I lost Sirius, in June. It's December, Fred. It's only been a few months. I lost the man I was going to marry. It's not to say I don't feel anything for you, because I know I do. I just don't know if the feelings are strong enough to act on, and I don't know whether it'd be right to act on these feelings."

"How could it possibly be wrong? It's not like this is a marriage proposal, Isabel. I'm not looking for something serious from you, I'm the least serious guy in the whole world - "

"Fred, there is a part of me that wants this so badly, but I just, I can't." He turned away from me and remained silent. I took that as a sign that he did not want me there. "I'll see you at the next order meeting, then," I sighed. I left him alone in the garage and disapparated home. I couldn't help but feel that the decision I made was not the right one.

* * *

**A/N: So, who was more angry with this chapter. Fred/Isabel shippers or Isabel/Remus shippers? I feel a little guilty for torturing you both.  
**

**We're getting closer and closer to the end. At my count, there are 28 chapters left! So the end is just around the corner! How do you guys think it's going to play out?  
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**Next chapter:**

"Why are you out here?" Fred asked, shutting the door behind him. "Are you mad?"

"I'm out here because I knew you'd follow me. However, yes, I am a little mad."

"At who?"

"At you! After what happened you didn't talk to me for how long? Fred, I thought we were closer than that. I thought we could just move past it." Fred rolled his eyes and marched up to me, until he was right in front of me. He took my hand and held it to his face.

"Do you feel this?"

"Fred - "

"Do you feel this?" I closed my eyes and nodded. I did. My nerves were alight, every time he touched me. I wanted to argue with him, but I couldn't fight. "I feel it too. There's something here, and I just, I feel like it's special and we need to grasp onto it and never let go." I opened my eyes, my almost black ones staring into his gorgeous brown ones. He was right. I could no longer fight a war against my feelings - I had tried to do it once and failed.


	96. It's a Good Thing You Make Me Smile

**Thanks to: HPFan, jellybeanlover2010, ariapyrasyria, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, and TheDiva121 for your reviews. Also, thanks to those that favourited the story.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Fred & Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Violet Hill by Coldplay  
Death and All His Friends by Coldplay  
Torch Song by Shady Bard**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

We sat around the table, taking the news of Emmeline Vance's death and the disappearances in. The very fact we were in a war was starting to get to me. Emmeline and I had never been friends, we had never really talked, but I respected the work that she did for the Order. We were on the same side, that was the most important thing. Our Order numbers were declining by the minute, and our supporters were very silent. The Death Eaters had one major thing on their side - fear.

"What do we do now, then?" Arthur asked Kingsley Shacklebolt, who stood at the end of the table.

"We do nothing but make sure we are safe. There is not much we can do."

"You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters are not going to make any such moves at the moment and risk losing numbers as they begin to grow. We simply have to be vigilant until they make a move, because as you can see, we cannot risk losing anyone at the moment either. Time is on our side," Mad-Eye told the group. We were smaller than usual today because all the aurors except Kingsley were out on jobs. We were left with Molly, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, Fred, George, Remus and Elphias Doge.

"I just hate this waiting, wondering when we're to do something," I said. "Wondering if the ones we love are going to - "

"Don't say any more, Isabel," Molly interrupted, holding her hand up. I knew she had a fear of losing the ones she loved. I stopped, respecting her wishes. If she did not want to talk about it, then we would not talk. It felt strange, the Order meeting being at the Burrow. I was so used to sitting around the long table at Grimmauld Place for our meetings, it felt like something was missing being here.

"Does anyone have anything they want to add?" Kingsley asked. We all stayed silent, not wanting to say anything else. "Meeting dismissed." Kingsley and Mad-Eye left right away, obviously having their own business to attend to. Molly turned to Elphias and smiled.

"Would you like to stay for some afternoon tea?" Molly asked with a tone much different to the one she had during the meeting.

"No, thank you, I best be getting home. I appreciate the offer though." Elphias rose from his seat and nodded politely to each one of us. "I shall be seeing you all soon, then? Good day to you all." Elphias then left the room, leaving the rest of us to share afternoon tea. I sat in between Fred and Remus. I felt a little uncomfortable. One of the men I had kissed a week ago, and regretted it straight afterward, the other, I didn't know where I stood. At least with Remus, I knew we could move on as normal.

"I'll be back in a moment," I said with a forced smile. I stood up and left the room quickly. To an outsider, it would appear that I was fine, and was just slipping away to perhaps get something I had left behind, but Fred, who was not an outsider, followed me. I walked outside, into the cold snow. Luckily I had remembered not to take my coat off.

"Why are you out here?" Fred asked, shutting the door behind him. "Are you mad?"

"I'm out here because I knew you'd follow me. However, yes, I am a little mad."

"At who?"

"At you! After what happened you didn't talk to me for how long? Fred, I thought we were closer than that. I thought we could just move past it." Fred rolled his eyes and marched up to me, until he was right in front of me. He took my hand and held it to his face.

"Do you feel this?"

"Fred - "

"Do you feel this?" I closed my eyes and nodded. I did. My nerves were alight, every time he touched me. I wanted to argue with him, but I couldn't fight. "I feel it too. There's something here, and I just, I feel like it's special and we need to grasp onto it and never let go." I opened my eyes, my almost black ones staring into his gorgeous brown ones. He was right. I could no longer fight a war against my feelings - I had tried to do it once and failed.

"How about we try the dinner thing again?" I asked, taking his hand away from my cheek. "Tomorrow night?" Fred smiled, nodding back.

"I'd like that."

* * *

I picked up the photo frame, holding it tightly in my hands. I stared down at the picture of Sirius and I laughing, him holding me in his arms. It was the happiest I had ever seen him. There had never been a happier time in life either, until now. I could try to fight off the feelings I had for Fred with everything I had, but I couldn't. There was no running and hiding anymore. Fred made me happy, and that was a hard thing to do after what happened to Sirius. I had lost the man I loved, but perhaps now, I was gaining someone else? The only thing holding me back from acting on my feelings was this photo, and the letters, and the ring I was wearing on my finger. The only thing holding me back, was simply, the memory of Sirius.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, tears falling onto my cheek. "I have to let you go." I placed the box of letters at the bottom of a box of keepsakes. I reached for the ring on my finger, and pulled it off slowly. The wedding ring Sirius had left to me. I couldn't hold onto him through a ring anymore. I looked at it once, before placing it with the box of letters. Last, but not least, the photo. I kissed it one last time, before placing it at the bottom of the box. "Goodbye, Sirius." I turned around to my window and opened the curtains. As I wiped away my tears, the light streamed into my room. The world was different. My world was different. Hiding was no longer an option. Nothing was going to hold me back anymore. It was time to move onto the next stage of my life. That stage was Fred.

* * *

The next day had come, meaning tonight was the night I would go to dinner with Fred again. It was practically our second date, if you counted the picnic we went on. I was ready to let go of my past, and move forward with my future. Tonight, I was to wave the white flag and surrender to my feelings. I picked up my wand and moved it down my hair, attempting to bring back the curls that I had been sporting for months. Overnight, they had disappeared, and I was disappointed. I hated my straight, natural hair, compared with the beautiful waves and curled that I used to sport.

"Need help with that?" Andromeda asked, entering the room to see me struggling with my hair.

"Please," I replied with a smile.

"You look happy," Andie noted. I was truly happy. It seemed like, apart from the war, things were beginning to fall into place. "So, you're trying it with Fred again? What made you change your mind? I thought you decided not to pursue anything with him?"

"I changed my mind," I told her, watching her curl my hair with her wand through the mirror. "We talked yesterday, and I realised that Sirius was the only thing holding me back. I accepted that I had to move on with my life and I was allowed to be happy, and Fred's the person I'm choosing to be happy with. He puts a smile on my face, Andie."

"And the smile he puts on your face is gorgeous. I am so overjoyed to see you happy, darling." She finished with the last part of my hair, running her wand down the jet black length until it was the same as the rest of my hair. "Perfect! That should last for the next few months!" She ran her hand through my curls with a smile on her face. "I do prefer your hair this way, it gives you such life. I should really try to find a spell to do it permanently."

'Well then," I said, standing up. "That can be your mission whilst I'm gone this evening."

"Sirius would be proud of you," Andromeda said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I know," I replied with a smile. "He wouldn't have wanted me to continue grieving for him any longer than I already have." I picked up the long black coat that was sitting on my bed and put it on slowly. It was very warm, perfect for the freezing weather.

"They're new," Andromeda said, looking at the new shoes I was wearing. "Do you think wearing heeled boots such as them are good for this weather? The ground is snowy..."

"I don't own any non-heeled shoes, Andie," I laughed. "I'm too short to wear normal shoes."

"And what about this coat?" She asked.

"Fleur gave it to me years ago for Christmas. I never really wore it until now."

"Well, you look fabulous," Andie said, grinning. There was a knock at my bedroom door. Andie turned around and opened the door slowly, to reveal Ted. "Oh, hello darling. What is it that you need?" Ted walked into the room, a huge smile on his face as always.

"There is a young man downstairs by the name of Fred Weasley waiting for you, Isabel," he told me. "Now, he better be careful, because I'm going to be watching him." I laughed. Ted was always such a joker. He would get along really well with Fred.

"I think I best be going then!" I picked up my wand and slipped it into the wand pocket of my coat. The butterflies in my stomach were increasing by the minute. I was nervous. It was like I was a teenage girl going on her first date. I walked down the stairs to see Fred sitting in the seat next to the door, twiddling his thumbs. He looked as nervous as I was. "Hey," I said. He looked up quickly, then stood up, almost falling over his feet as he did so.

"Sorry," he said with a nervous laugh. He held out a small white rose, a small smile lighting up his face. When he wasn't joking around, he was almost charming. I took the white rose and held it up to just under my nose so I could take in it's scent. It was beautiful, just how a rose should smell. I put it in the vase on the table behind me, then turned back to Fred.

"Shall we go?" I asked. He held his arm out. I linked mine in his and smiled at him.

"What's that face?"

"You don't recognise when I'm happy?"

"I just don't get to see it often," Fred answered. "It's a nice change. I want to see it more often."

"It's a good thing you're the one that makes me smile then."

* * *

Fred and I walked down the snowy streets of muggle London, arm in arm. I felt somewhat safer in this place than I did in the wizarding world. The war wasn't happening in this world, they had no idea. I could walk around these streets without having to fear what was around the corner. It was a little bit of respite. Fred led me down a street full of people eating, talking and laughing. "What is this place?" I asked, looking up at the signs. The signs seemed very familiar, as there were many similar ones in Diagon Alley. He led me over to one specific place. Like the signs, it looked familiar. "Is this a muggle version of a restaurant?"

"You're correct!" Fred answered, opening the door. I stepped inside and looked around. It was beautiful and small, just what I liked. Fred whispered something to the man standing next to the door, and the next thing I knew I was sitting at a table, in the very corner of the room, next to a fireplace. The perfect spot. "So, do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it. It's gorgeous, Fred."

"I thought it'd be good, considering the threat to the rest of, well, you know." Fred didn't continue when he saw my expression. Tonight, I didn't want to speak about the war. I just wanted to speak about us and enjoy myself. The war meant nothing to me at the moment. Times like these where we didn't have to worry were rare were, and every second needed to be cherished. "I'm sorry about the picnic we went on. I shouldn't have pushed it so far."

"Hey, don't worry about it. It didn't turn out the way we both would have liked, but look, we're here now."

"Have you noticed you haven't wiped the smile off your face since leaving home?" I touched my hands to my lips. He was right, I hadn't stopped smiling. I hadn't been this happy in so long that I had forgotten what it felt like to be happy.

"Good evening," a waiter said, interrupting us. "Would you like to order any drinks this evening?"

"Can we have a bottle of red wine?" The waiter nodded and walked off. I was surprised. How did he know what to say? "Don't look so shocked, I've been visiting muggle London a lot lately. Georgie and I come out for lunch a lot."

"How did you get so much muggle money?"

"That's my secret to know and yours to never find out," he replied with a grin.

* * *

Dinner was going so well so far. The food was great, the wine was divine, and the company, well, that was the best part. Fred had been so lovely and so understanding with absolutely everything so far.

"How's the food?" I asked him.

"It's really, really good. I think the muggles do it better than we do."

"Wow, that's a big call to make," I said, raising my eyebrows. "Your mother makes fantastic food. The best there possibly is."

"You get sick of it over time," he replied. I couldn't help but laugh at him. How on earth could you possibly get sick of Molly Weasley's cooking?

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything, Isabel." I was afraid to ask him this question. Would he get mad at me? Would it ruin the whole evening? I had to, though. It just kept playing over in my head.

"Why is it that you act like such a jokester around everyone, except me?" I could see this question stumped him, and he didn't know how to react. He sat back in his seat and began to think. Perhaps he didn't even realise he acted differently around me? But it was true, he did. He was much more gentle and careful around me than he was around anyone else.

"I guess that I act different around you because my relationship with you is different to any other relationship I have. I don't want to joke around with you because I joke around with everyone else. I want to be different with you." I smiled at his show of honesty. I reached over for his hand and held it tightly.

"Thank you," I said softly.

"What for?"

"Absolutely everything you've done for me. You helped me out of the hole I was in after Sirius' death, you brought Gabrielle back to me, and you made me happy again. No one has ever done so much for me."

"It's nothing." I gripped his hand tighter and shook my head.

"It's not just nothing."

* * *

Fred and I arrived on the front doorstep. I had enjoyed my night so much. There were so many things about Fred that I didn't know that I found out tonight. He was fantastic company, and he made me smile. Could I ask for anything else?

"You're not going inside without giving me a hug, are you?" I smiled up at Fred, just like I had been doing all night. He was such a big softie. I put my arms around him and leaned my head on his chest. He put his arms around me, holding me there. There was nowhere in the world that felt safer. His arms were my safe house.

"Thank you for tonight," I said, looking up at him whilst still in his arms. "I needed this. I think that I'm slowly starting to become normal again."

"You? Normal? That's likely," Fred replied, laughing. He released me from his grip and kissed my head quickly. "And you're welcome."

"Well," I said awkwardly, fiddling around with my jacket. "Goodnight."

"Night." I turned around to go inside, but something hit me. We were in a war. I couldn't leave anything to chance, and I promised myself I wouldn't run and hide anymore. I knew what I wanted, and I knew he wanted it too. I heard Fred walking away from the house, his shoes hitting the rocks on the dusty road. I turned around and ran onto the road after Fred. He heard me coming, because he instantly stopped and turned towards me. When I reached him, I grabbed Fred's collar and brought his lips to mine. There we stood, kissing, in the middle of the road, as if it were completely normal. My arms went around his neck as the kiss became more and more passionate. Whenever he touched me, it felt like my nerves were on fire. And now, when he was kissing me, it felt like that was heightened by a million. Fred broke the kiss and stared at me, shocked. After a few moments of silence, a grin came on his face, like had succeeded.

"Thank you," Fred said, still grinning. It was like he had won the biggest game ever. He was adorable.

"You're welcome," I replied. I stepped away from Fred quickly as I heard the front door opening.

"Oh, I thought I heard you two. What are you doing on the road?" I sighed at Andromeda's bad timing. As ridiculous as it sounded, I just wanted to continue kissing Fred under the stars. "Did you have a good night?" Andromeda asked.

"I had a great night," Fred said to her. I could see Andromeda becoming more suspicious by the second. I guess I needed to hurry this up to make it more comfortable for Fred.

"Yeah, I had a great night too. I better get inside." I shot Fred an apologetic look, but we couldn't continue anything here. I would have to see him at a different place, and at a different place, to sort out what all this meant for us. "Night, Fred."

"Night Isabel," he replied. He gave a nod to Andromeda before apparating on the spot. Andie had completely embarrassed him, poor guy. Andie raised her eyebrows at me as we walked inside. "Have you got anything to tell me, Isabel?" She wasn't very subtle. Andie knew everything that just happened. I suspected that she was listening to every word of our conversation, but I knew she heard every little bit of that kiss. I could tell by the look on her face.

"You heard it all, I think."

"You weren't very quiet."

"I'm going to head to bed," I said. Andie's eyebrows were raised, watching me as I walked up the stairs. I entered my room and shut the door behind me, falling back on my bed with a smile. I touched lips again, remembering the kiss. They have a saying that someone is head over heels in love. I think with that kiss, I realised I was well on my way.

* * *

**A/N: What are you guys thinking? Good, bad? Whatever you're thinking!  
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**Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you enjoy every minute of it and you get spoiled rotten!  
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**As a Christmas present to me...reviews?  
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**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter:  
**"TONKS!" I ran over to her as she stumbled through the door, bruised and bloodied. She fell into my arms, her legs unable to carry her any further. I picked her up, using all the strength I could, and carried her over to the couch. Andromeda and Ted ran out into the lounge room, Andromeda screaming the moment she saw the state her daughter was in. I knelt down next to her and brushed her hair our of her face, then took my wand out, starting to heal her wounds. 


	97. O Holy Night

**Thanks to: Tessa, HPFan, IcyRose66, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER and Limavaa for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Fire In the Water by Feist  
Where I Come From by Passion Pit  
Christmas Lights by Coldplay  
O Holy Night by Cary Brothers  
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Digital Daggers**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

I woke up the next day, wondering if last night was just a dream. Did I really kiss Fred Weasley? Did he really kiss me? All I knew was that it felt right. I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed and brushed my hair. I would obviously need to go out and see Fred, and work out what to do from here. For a change, I wasn't going to avoid confrontation about my feelings - I would face them head on. I placed my wand in my wand pocket and ran downstairs in my high heels. I was getting better in these things as each day passed.

"Where are you going?" Ted called out from the kitchen as I headed for the door.

"Out!" I replied, opening the door and shutting it behind me quickly. Moments later, I disapparated, then arrived in Diagon Alley, I took out my wand and walked quickly towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, keeping my head down. I didn't want to have to fight off any Death Eaters. This once happy place was now deserted. Nobody wanted to risk going out anymore. It was now at the point where if you walked around the corner, you could be taken by Death Eaters or killed. Honestly, why would you risk coming here? I opened the door of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes then shut it behind me quickly, leaning against the door after it was shut to catch my breath. I looked around the store and realised I was the only one in here.

"Fred? George?" I called out, my voice echoing through the empty store.

"Isabel," Fred said, appearing from around a corner. "What are you doing here? Why would you even risk it?"

"Why do you still risk it?" I asked. Fred nodded, not wanting to fight with me on this. "Is George here?" He shook his head, so I knew the coast was clear to get this done. I dragged Fred into the same back room he took me to when I first visited this place. I wasn't going to muck about with this. "Fred, we need to be completely honest with each other. That kiss was - "

"Amazing?" Fred asked, hopefully. I bit my lip, smiled and nodded. I couldn't deny the things that kiss made me feel, or the things he made me feel. Fred's kiss sent shivers up my spine, and only left me wanting more from him. "What about when I do this?" Fred reached out and ran his finger down the side of my face. I closed my eyes and took in his touch.

"It feels like you're touching every nerve in my body," I whispered, opening my eyes. Fred wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close to him. It was curious how comfortable I felt in his arms...I had been in his arms before, but I never felt as comfortable and as safe as I was feeling right now. Our timing was finally right.

"Can I ask you a question?" Fred said, looking down at me with his beautiful brown eyes.

"Anything."

"Are we going to make this official? We've been at this ever since your birthday party. You know my feelings for you, and you can't deny your feelings for me. That date we went on, didn't that just prove what we both feel is real?"

"Yes," I whispered, nodding.

"Well, we can't tell anyone until after Christmas. It would just be too complicated right now, but after Christmas, we can share it with the world." He kissed me softly on the head. "Speaking of Christmas, Mum said if I saw you I was to invite you to have Christmas with us. She said you're welcome to stay and all."

"I'd be delighted," I told him, leaning up to give him a swift kiss.

* * *

I arrived at the Burrow and rushed inside to hear loud music playing. I identified the music as Celestina Warbeck, Molly's favourite singer. I didn't care for her much, but if Molly was happy, I was happy. I walked into the living room to see Molly, Arthur, Fred, Bill, Fleur, George, Ginny, Harry, Ron and Remus, all preoccupied with each other. When Molly had noticed I arrived, she walked up to me quickly and threw her arms around me. Obviously, she was in a fantastic mood.

"Isabel! How lovely it is to have you here with us! You'll be staying in Ginny's room with Fleur! Is that okay?" I nodded back, hardly understanding her with the loud music blasting out of the wooden radio. I looked around at everyone, surveying the scene. Everything seemed like the usual, except for Remus. He looked absolutely awful. Was he not taking the wolfsbane potion I gave him? I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He looked down at me, and that warm smile that usually graced his face was nowhere to be found.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Nothing, really, I'm fine." I decided not to question him anymore. It would be unwise, especially on Christmas Eve, to get Remus worked up.

"Has it occurred to you Harry that Snape was simply pretending - " I looked over towards where the voices were coming from. Harry and Arthur were in a deep discussion...about Father. This has obviously caught Remus' attention too.

"Pretending to offer help so that he could find out what Malfoy's up to? Yeah. I thought you'd say that. But how do we know?

"It isn't our business to know," Remus said, injecting himself into the conversation. "It's Dumbledore's business. Dumbledore trusts Severus, and that ought to be good enough for all of us.

"But, just say - just say Dumbledore's wrong about Snape..."

"People have said it, many times. It comes down to whether you trust Dumbledore's judgement. I do, therefore, I trust Severus."

"Harry," I said, also injecting myself into the conversation. I was the person who knew Father the best. I would have the best view on things. "Remus is exactly right, and besides, you don't know the Severus I know. He wouldn't betray us...betray me, ever. He is Dumbledore's man through and through. He would never betray Dumbledore, ever." Harry turned to me, his eyes widening. Perhaps he did not realise I was even here?

"Dumbledore can make mistakes! He said it himself!" He turned to Remus. "Do you honestly like Snape?" I folded my arms and shook my head at Harry. Sure, Father could be a real pain sometimes, but he was still my father. I didn't like it when people spoke negatively on him when they didn't even know him.

"I neither like nor dislike Severus." Harry's expression was skeptical, but that was the response I truly thought Remus would come out with. "We shall never be bosom friends, perhaps what happened with James and Sirius and Severus, there is too much bitterness there..." I wanted to hear the rest of what they were saying, but I found myself being pulled away by Fred, to around the corner. He put a finger to my lips and grinned.

"You're so cute when you get a shock," he whispered.

I sighed and folded my arms, staring up at him intently. "It's Christmas Eve and we're spending it attempting to hide this from your mother," I whispered back. "Can we not just tell her? Would it not be easier?"

"Tell her, then tell the rest of my family? Not bloody likely." I sighed and looked at the floor. "Hey, don't. You know it's better to wait. Besides, if we tell them now we'll have to tell Lupin and Harry. Are you prepared for that?" He made a good point. I was definitely not ready to tell Remus...and I did not know how Harry was to react. Perhaps it was just better to leave it for after Christmas. I didn't want to cause any drama.

"You're right. I'm sorry," I whispered, kissing his lips quickly, so nobody else would see. I walked back out to the main room, and it was like no one had noticed we were gone.

"What else have you been up to lately?" I heard Harry ask Remus.

"Oh I've been underground, almost literally." I turned to Remus and raised my eyebrows. This was news to me. "That's why I haven't been able to write, Harry. Sending letters to you might have been something of a give away." A give away? Of what? "I've been living with my fellows, my equals." No, he has not. "Werewolves." I marched up to Remus and took hold of his shoulders.

"What in God's name is wrong with you? I don't see you for a month, and before you leave you forget to mention the fact you're going to hang out with werewolves? They are not your equals! Remus, are you actually stupid?" I could see Harry's shocked expression from the corner of my eye, but I did not care about him at this point. Remus went to live with werwolves! How could he do something so idiotic!

"Nearly all of them are on Voldemort's side. Dumbledore needed a spy, and here I am...ready made." So it was Dumbledore! I should have known it! "I'm not complaining, it is necessary work, and who can do it better than I? However, it was a little difficult to gain their trust - "

"Yeah, funny that," I scoffed.

"I bear the unmistakable signs of having tried to live among wizards, you see, whereas they have shunned normal society and live on the margins - sometimes killing and stealing to eat." My face paled. I hoped he had not been one of those who lived by their rules around them. Remus would never kill. It was not in his nature. But he was a werewolf. It was his nature? Whilst Remus and Harry continued their conversation, I simply walked away. I was making me feel ill just by listening to it. I had to get away from it.

* * *

"Isabel." It was Remus. I was outside Ginny's room, where I would be sleeping tonight. Just before I went to open the door, Remus called for me. I was unsure of what to say - he had obviously seen the way I had reacted to what Dumbledore made him do. What was I supposed to say to him?

"Remus, I'm just about to go to bed," I said, pointing out my dressing gown. It would have been too risky to walk around in my nightclothes...not with the amount of men in this house and Molly's disapproving eyes.

"This will only take a moment. I saw how uncomfortable you were about the werewolf situation. Isabel, you must know that I did not do the same to get by out there with them. I did not kill." I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew Remus was never like that, but somehow, I doubted myself. I doubted him, and I shouldn't have.

"I was simply worried about you is all," I said. "I'll always be worried about you. You have been taking my wolfsbane potion, haven't you?" He nodded back, but his eyes were so sad and empty. "What did they do to you?" I asked, running my hand over the wounds on his face.

"I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. How many times did you get into fights with them?"

"I lost count eventually," he said with a quiet laugh. "Do not worry about me, Isabel. I needed to do what I did, Dumbledore needed me to. I did it for the good of the Order."

"I just...I just never want to see you get hurt."

"I'm a werewolf. It's a bit too late for that." He took my hand and held it tightly. "I'll be fine, trust me. Now I think you should head off to sleep. The Weasley's are notorious for having a good Christmas bash, so you'll need your rest." He kissed my hand, then let it go. "Goodnight, Isabel." He turned around and left for his room, as I turned and walked into Ginny's. I just hoped that Dumbledore would never send him to the werewolves again.

* * *

I woke to see a large stocking at the foot of my bed. I shook my head and laughed quietly, as Ginny and Fleur were still asleep. Molly thought of everything at Christmas, didn't she? I slipped on my dressing gown, picked up my stocking and took it out of the room. It was Christmas morning - I didn't want to wait to open my gifts! As I walked to sit on the stairs that led down to the ground floor of the Burrow, I noticed that I was not alone.

"Morning," I said, getting the attention of my red haired, non-official boyfriend, Fred Weasley. He turned around, a sleepy smile appearing on his face when his eyes caught sight of me. I sat down next to him and quickly gave him a kiss. We couldn't risk getting caught.

"You know what would really make my Christmas morning?" He asked before yawning and stretching his arms. He obviously hadn't been up for long.

"What's that?"

"If you took that dressing gown of yours off." I smacked him across the back of his head.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing at all," he said with a lopsided grin. I couldn't help but forgive him - he was as cute as a puppy. "Why are you up so early?"

"It's Christmas morning," I told him with a smile. "It's honestly my favourite day of the year. It's the one day a year where I feel young again...and Christmas for me has never really been an event until now. Father never made a big deal of it, neither did Mother. The French Wizarding World never made a big deal about Christmas. They call it Noël, or rather, Merry Christmas is joyeux Noël."

"I love it when you speak French." I had heard that before. It was strange, I had always preferred to speak English, and always thought words sounded better in English. Perhaps I was alone in that. "Well, are you going to open your gifts? The one at the top is mine." I smiled as I took the wrapped up box from the top of the Christmas stocking. I tore off the dark blue wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside, was a small glass bottle, full of liquid. I then realised, it was perfume. I held it up and smelled it. It was absolutely divine. "I wanted to get you something you'd use everyday," Fred told me. I kissed his cheek and smelled it again.

"It's beautiful, I love it. Thank you."

* * *

The table was set. Christmas lunch with the Weasley family (and a few extras) was about to begin. I was quite excited for today. I hoped it would come without the drama that came with last year's Christmas - Arthur in hospital, Sirius and Remus fighting - it definitely spoiled the magic that was Christmas Day. But today, I was with my sister, two of my best friends, my secret boyfriend, and a family I considered my own. How could anything possibly go wrong?

"Fred and George gave them to me! Aren't they beautiful?" Molly exclaimed, pointing out her gift from Fred and George. Obviously, the twins had a lot of money to spend this year. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had been very profitable for them indeed.

"Well, we find we appreciate you more and more, Mum, now we're washing our own socks. Parsnips, Remus?"

"Harry, you've got a maggot in your hair," Ginny said, leaning over the table to take it out of Harry's hair. Harry's expression was priceless. It was obvious that Ginny affected him - he liked her. It was cute, and Molly, if she ever found out, would be ecstatic.

"'Ow 'horrible!" Fleur screeched at the sight of the maggot. Fleur had never been good with insects.

"Yes, isn't it? Gravy, Fleur?" Ron picked up the gravy to pass it over to Fleur, but then knocked it over. Luckily, Bill had his wits about him and cleaned it off the table straight away. Fred and George sniggered at Ron's clumsiness.

"You are as bad as zat Tonks. She is always knocking - " I glared at Fleur, wanting her to stop. Her tone sounded like she was degrading Tonks, and I wouldn't allow that. Tonks is my best friend, I would not let anybody, whoever they are, to speak about her that way.

"I invited dear Tonks to come along today," Molly replied to Fleur, in a rather rude manner, "but she wouldn't come. Have you spoken to her lately, Isabel? Remus?"

"No, I haven't spoken to her since I left Hogwarts. I was sure she was spending today with Andromeda and Ted though. I would be there as well, if I hadn't been invited here." Molly nodded, accepting my response, then turned to Remus.

"No, I haven't been in contact with anybody much," Remus said. "Like Isabel said, hasn't Tonks got her own family to go and see?"

"Hmm, maybe. I got the impression she was planning to spend Christmas alone, actually," Molly said, sending Remus a glare. I didn't know why - had Tonks possibly told Molly about her feelings for Remus?

"Tonks's Patronus has changed form," Harry said. "Snape said so anyway." How did Father know about What Tonks's original Patronus was? "I didn't know that could happen. Why would your Patronus change?" Remus looked surprise by what Harry had just told him. However, I was not surprised. I saw how Tonks was when she was patrolling Hogwarts. She was simply, a mess.

"Sometimes, a great shock...an emotional upheaval...Isabel, you've been through that. Let's demonstrate." What? Sure, I hadn't cast a Patronus since before Sirius' death, but mine couldn't have changed...could it? Everyone on the table looked to me as I took my wand out. Harry watched most intently. I focused on the happiest thought I had in my mind - Gabrielle, Fleur and I all reunited at my birthday, and then Fred and I kissing. My happiest memories had changed! Did that mean my Patronus was going to be changed as well?

"Expecto Patronum!" Seconds later, a big, bright hyena shot out of my wand. So it had changed! But a hyena? Why a hyena? This made absolutely no sense to me. As my Patronus died away because my thoughts had changed, I started to contemplate why it had changed into a hyena. I sat back down and looked to everyone on the table.

"My -" Fred began to say, a shocked expression on his face, before he was interrupted by his mother.

"Arthur! Arthur, it's Percy!" My head shot up at Molly, who was staring out the kitchen window. Percy Weasley, who had abandoned us for the Ministry, had arrived here, at the Burrow, on today of all days. He had returned! Surprisingly, Perce wasn't alone. Obviously, seeing as who his company was, he was not here simply to spend Christmas with his family. Walking behind him, the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. I had already had the pleasure of meeting the minister, during the reading of Sirius' will. I liked him more than Fudge instantly.

"Arthur - he's...he's with the Minister!" We sat there, stunned at this turn of events. Moments later, the back door opened, and there was Percy, horn-rimmed glasses and all.

"Merry Christmas, Mother," Percy said, with almost no emotion at all. It was a far cry from the Percy Weasley I used to be friends with.

"Oh, Percy!" Molly exclaimed, throwing herself into her son's arms.

"You must forgive the intrusion, Percy and I were in the vicinity, working, you know, and he couldn't resist dropping into see you all." I coughed on my wine, knowing what a complete and utter lie that was. Since Percy had joined the Ministry, he wanted nothing to do with us. Fred tensed up, watching his brother's stone cold expression. I put my hand on his knee under the table, hoping it would help calm him down. I didn't want him to make a scene, especially at Christmas.

"Please, come in, sit down, Minster! Have a little purkey, or some tooding, I mean..."

"No, no, my dear Molly!" How did he even know her name? "I don't want to intrude, wouldn't be here at all if Percy hadn't wanted to see you all so badly." Again, I almost choked on my wine. The Minister was awful at telling lies. There was no way Percy wanted to be here with us.

"Oh, Perce!" Molly was falling for it all. I hoped he wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't have become that cold, could he?

"...we've only looked in for five minutes, so I'll have a stroll around the yard while you catch up with Percy. No, no, I assure you I don't want to butt in! Well, if anybody cared to show me your charming garden...ah, that young man's finished, why doesn't he take a stroll with me?" I turned to look at Harry, who the Minister was referring to. This visit wasn't about Percy at all - Scrimgeour wanted something from Harry. It was all too obvious. As Harry and the Minister left the house, the rest of us were left to simply stare at Percy. The last time I had seen him was the Yule Ball, and that was the night he chose power over his friendship with me, and I had not forgiven him since. Molly hugged and kissed her son, making a fuss over his return, as Fred, George, Ginny, Bill, Arthur and I sat there and stared at Percy, Fleur and Remus simply continuing to eat their meals.

"Percy, we're so glad to have you back!" Molly said, a huge smile on her face. Percy only gave his mother a curt nod and a forced smile as a response. I was absolutely disgusted with Percy's behaviour, how dare he come back after ditching his family for the Ministry and act like this.

"Percy," I said. He turned towards me, and his expression changed. It was like he didn't know I could speak. "So how have you been since I saw you last? Was it the Yule Ball? Wasn't that night fun? Do you remember nearly pulling my arm out of its socket?" Percy stiffened and looked to be more uncomfortable than he already was. Molly, on the other hand, shot me a glare.

"Oh yes, and that was the night I had to carry you back to your office? After he hit you in the face?" Fred said, his face full of disgust.

"Fred, Isabel, stop it," Molly snapped.

"No, let them go, Mum," Ginny said. "Our so called brother thinks he can just show up here after doing this to us? No, he can't!"

"Power hungry Percy, always putting himself before others," Fred spat, shaking his head at his brother.

"How dare you," Percy snarled. "I have always wanted this job and now I have it, all you want to do is bring me down! Just because no one else in this family has ever had a successful job, does not mean I have to follow down your path!" Everyone froze at Percy's words. Did he really just say that? He was speaking as if his own family were inferior! I simply was disgusted. Fred, George and Ginny however had another plan. They all picked up the mashed parsnip from their plate and threw it in Percy's direction, some of it landing on his horn-rimmed glasses. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? I am done with this family!" Percy shook with anger, turned around and stormed out. Molly watched her son leave, then burst into tears.

"Well, what's Christmas without a bit of family drama?" George said.

* * *

I arrived back home to see Andie and Ted, sitting in the candle-lit dining room by themselves. Andie seemed upset. I sat down at the table and looked to Andromeda, who was loading up an empty plate with food. "Where's Tonks?" I asked, sitting down at the table. Andie wiped a tear, then passed me a plate full of food and shrugged.

"She said she had to leave, then just left the house without another word. We weren't able to stop her." Andie sighed. "I just wanted to spend Christmas together, all of us, as a family." It was strange, Tonks told me she was adamant on spending Christmas with Andromeda, Ted and I. She would be the last person to leave without saying anything. "How was your day at the Burrow?" Andie said, putting on a smile. "Did Molly spoil you all with her delicious cooking?" She asked, not wanting to dampen the Christmas spirit.

"It was fantastic," I told her, nodding. "Until Percy showed up."

"Isn't he working at the Ministry now?" Ted questioned.

"Yes. He came with the Minister of Magic. They were after something from Harry. I don't know what, but you know the Ministry, always wanting something from people." I played around with the food on my plate, remembering the look Percy gave me when I spoke to him. I really did miss the friendship we had. "Let's not talk of such things on such a joyful day. Here." I picked up the two boxes I had brought into the dining room with me, passing one to Ted and one to Andie. "Merry Christmas," I said with a smile.

"Thank you, darling!" Andie's face lit up as she began to untie the ribbon around the box. Ted did the same. As Andie finished opening her gift, the door opened. I turned around, looking down the hallway towards the door. My eyes widened as my eyes connected with the person walking through the doorway.

"TONKS!" I ran over to her as she stumbled through the door, bruised and bloodied. She fell into my arms, her legs unable to carry her any further. I picked her up, using all the strength I could, and carried her over to the couch. Andromeda and Ted ran out into the lounge room, Andromeda screaming the moment she saw the state her daughter was in. I knelt down next to her and brushed her hair our of her face, then took my wand out, starting to heal her wounds.

"Who did this?" Ted asked, staring down at his daughter in disbelief.

"Death Eaters," she muttered. Tonks held out her hand to her mother, then opened her palm to reveal a pair of earrings. "Merry Christmas," she breathed out. Andie teared up and knelt next to her daughter, pressing her forehead to Tonks'. Ted stood behind me and put his arm on my shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, darling," he whispered.

* * *

**A/N: Long chapter for you guys! Hope you had a swell Christmas!**

**REVIEWS! I've cut a few more chapters out, so the end if coming faster and faster! I think we can manage 750-800 by the end of the story, but to do that, you all have to review!**

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**Next Chapter:  
**I shuddered as I felt his hands trace my body. He then sat up and went to work on my neck, kissing it ever so softly. I closed my eyes and threw my head back. If there was a heaven, this was it.

"Hey, Fred, mate, I - "

My eyes shot open to see George, who had just dropped the box that he was carrying. Fred and I broke apart quickly and sat on opposite ends of the seat we had just been making out on. This was embarrassing. I could feel my cheeks becoming redder by the second. George still stood there, starting at us in shock.


	98. Simply Wonderful

**Thanks to: Kimm-Norwood, HPFan, pottermania-bis (times 5), xXChaosForeverXx, LaFlorine, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER andTheDiva121 for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
The Friends' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Fred & Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Young Lovers by Love Grenades  
Temptation by Moby  
Thinking of You by Pete Yorn  
All We Are by Matt Nathanson**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

Tonks laid in her hospital bed, fast asleep. The ordeal she had gone through last night was horrible. After trying my hardest, I was not able to heal her wounds, so we brought her here, to St. Mungo's, as quickly as we could. I paced back and forth in front of her bed, holding my hand to my head. I was in stress-mode.

"This just shows the Death Eaters can get to anyone we love, whenever they want." I glanced over at Tonks, who had been bruised and battered. She could have been killed. "I don't understand it! Why Tonks? She's a half-blood, why would they target her?"

"Isabel, I suggest you go home, get some rest," Mad-Eye said, standing in the corner of the room. "You too, Andromeda. I can stay here, I'll be here when she wakes."

"Mad-Eye, why would they do this?"

"They don't specifically target certain people. They just would have seen her and taken the opportunity, because it was there," Arthur said from the chair next to her bed. Molly, stood behind him, looking down at Tonks in concern and Bill stood next to his mother. "Isabel, Alastor is right. You, Ted and Andromeda have been here all night. We're capable of looking after Tonks," Arthur said.

"I'm staying," Andie said. "However, Isabel, you need to go. You look like you are going to collapse."

"I'll take her," Bill said. Andie, Arthur and Molly all nodded, as Bill pulled me away from Tonks' bed and out the door. I guess they were right. I was no use there if I was a tired mess. "How're you doing?" Bill asked once we were outside, walking down the corridor of the hospital.

"I was fine, until all of that happened. I just, I never considered that...Bill, I..." I couldn't even finish my sentence properly, I was just too shocked. I guess it was finally sinking in that there was a war, and I was heavily involved in it. Bill pulled me close to him, rubbing my upper arm as we walked.

"I know," he said with a nod. "I understand."

"What are we supposed to do, Bill? How do we just keep going when this just keeps happening? Emmeline was killed, Tonks was attacked. How much longer until someone close to us is killed?" I was panicking, but this was something to panic about.

"Isabel, let's just get you back home, okay? We can talk about this later, but right now you just need to stay calm and strong for Tonks and the Order." I nodded up at him - he was right. Running around, worrying, was not going to do me, or anyone else, any favours.

* * *

Tonks was released from hospital the next day, and she was in surprisingly good spirits. I could tell why - Remus had paid her a visit in hospital only hours after I left. Andie said she instantly lit up when she saw his face. I was glad that he wasn't avoiding her any longer. No matter what my history was with Remus, I really did want him to be with Tonks. They deserved each other. And now, here I was, at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, sitting in the back room, sorting out mail orders, waiting for Fred to tell me that we were to go home. It was definitely times like these when I wanted to go back to teaching at Hogwarts. Sorting out mail orders for my boyfriend was not exactly the best job in the world. In fact, I despised it. This was not the way I thought my day was going to go.

"Someone looks miserable." I looked up to see Fred, smirking down at me.

"This isn't funny," I said, throwing down the list of mail orders. "I refuse to do this any longer."

"Oh, well, too bad that there's only way you can get out of doing this," he said. He helped me up off the ground, then wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close to him. He kissed me once, then twice, then three times.

"Wait, stop, stop, stop. Are you sure that George won't catch us?" I asked, placing my hands on his cheeks.

"I'm certain. His ugly mug is nowhere to be seen," Fred replied, nodding. I smirked and pounced on him. My lips went to his, gently but urgently. I had this intense urge to have his body close to mine. When he began grabbing my waist and my arms, that feeling took over again, where he was touching every nerve in my body. My fingers traced their way through his trademark Weasley red hair, and I realised that I was completely lost in the moment; completely lost in the pure ecstasy of the moment. He pulled me down on top of him and leaned up a couple of times to kiss me.

"You're so gorgeous," he said, brushing his hand through my hair. This was the part of Fred I most enjoyed. The passionate part that did not joke around. I giggled, then pressed my lips to his again. He wrapped his arms around my waist and returned the kiss just as eagerly. It was electric. It made the tiny hairs on my arms stand up. I shuddered as I felt his hands trace my body. He then sat up and went to work on my neck, kissing it ever so softly. I closed my eyes and threw my head back. If there was a heaven, this was it.

"Hey, Fred, I - "

My eyes shot open to see George, who had just dropped the box that he was carrying. Fred and I broke apart quickly and sat on opposite ends of the seat we had just been making out on. This was embarrassing. I could feel my cheeks becoming redder by the second. George still stood there, starting at us in shock.

"Uh, Georgie, mate, you might wanna have a seat," Fred told his twin brother whilst I pulled my jacket back on. George sat down opposite us, without a word. I was becoming worried now. Wouldn't he have said something?

"Um, Georgie - "

"What's going on?" George asked, looking back and forth at Fred and I. "Why were you just having sex with Isabel, in here of all places?"

"I wasn't having sex with her," Fred laughed. Fred turned to me, as if to ask for approval, and I simply nodded. We obviously had to tell George the truth about this now after what he saw. "Georgie, well, we're, um, obviously what the muggles would call friends with benefits." I hit Fred on the back of the head as George's mouth hung open in shock. "Sorry, sorry," Fred said, holding his hands in the air. "I was kidding. We're together, Georgie." George sat there, frozen. Was it really that much of a shock? Did George not notice how much time his twin brother had been spending with me?

"I'm your twin brother, why wouldn't you tell me?" George finally said, breaking the uneasy silence in the room. Fred sighed and sat back, shrugging before clapping his hands together.

"I don't know what to say to you, Georgie. We were planning on telling everyone at Mum's dinner on New Year's Eve, because everyone would be - "

"But I'm your brother!" George interrupted. "Your best friend! Doesn't that automatically mean you should come to me first."

"Sorry, mate, I just didn't want anyone to know before Mum, because Mum would freak if she knew someone else knew before her," Fred told him. George seemed genuinely upset, so perhaps it was time for me to say something.

"George." He turned to me, somewhat surprised that I was still here. I didn't want Fred and George to fight, especially something over as silly as this. "George, it was my choice to hide this relationship from everybody. There were a few people at Christmas that I thought would not like how fast I seemed to move on from my previous relationship." Harry and Remus to be specific. However, if I was happy, you would think that it would not matter.

"I guess I will simply have to respect your wishes, and I just want to say, I guess Freddie, you couldn't get any better than Isabel." I smiled at George. I thought it to be most important to be accepted by George, and now, I was. What else was there to worry about now that George was out of the way?

Molly.

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Fred asked me, gripping my hand tightly. I stared at the front door to the Burrow. New Years with the Weasley's and a few others...nothing could possibly go wrong...I hoped. The problem was, I never had to go through this before. Sirius didn't have a family, so I didn't have to fight for approval of the whole family. _'As if you're going to need approval from them, they already love you. Molly will perhaps love you even more now that you've taken an interest in her son.' _That was true, Molly always wanted me to be involved with one of them...

"No," I said with a small laugh. "We're just about to tell the whole Weasley family that we're together. Or, more specifically, Molly Weasley." Fred laughed at me and kissed my head. I wasn't worried about her approving me - I was worried that she would absolutely smother Fred and I. And I was also worried about how Fleur would react from Molly's reaction. It was no secret that Molly did not like my sister. Would my relationship with my sister suffer

"They will be over the moon...or more specifically, Mum will be over the moon." Fred then scratched his head and changed his expression completely. He had been smiling all night, until now. My smile dropped off my face, too. What was happening? "Isabel, by the way, I have something, uh, important to tell you."

"What is it? Please don't tell me there are unexpected guests or something tonight you didn't tell me about, because - "

"You know how your Patronus changed into a hyena?" He asked.

"Yes," I replied with a cautious nod. Where was he going with this? My Patronus, of all things?

"That's my Patronus."

"Excuse me?" I don't think I even processed his words correctly.

"Your Patronus, the Hyena, is the same as my Patronus. I only learned to form mine a few months ago, and yours changed, didn't it?" I nodded back at him, half in shock. My Patronus had changed into Fred's. This meant my feelings for him were obviously incredibly deep, or it wouldn't have changed into his. I put a smile on my face - maybe this was a good thing.

"C'mon," I said, "lets go in."

"Isabel! Fred! Good, you two aren't late," Molly exclaimed at the moment we walked in. "Where is Bill? And Charlie! Merlin, those two better have a good excuse! Both of you sit, go sit at the table." I smiled as I walked to the long table that had been set up. Molly was too flustered to even notice that Fred and I had come in together. The poor woman must have slogged it away all day in the kitchen if this was the result. I sat down in between Fred and George and felt a little uncomfortable, but it was going to be fine. I was going to be fine. At the other end of the table, Ron, Harry, Ginny and Arthur all sat together in deep conversation. That was before we were interrupted by another yell from the Weasley matriarch.

"WILLIAM! I TOLD YOU TO BE HERE EARLIER! Fleur, welcome. CHARLIE, YOU'RE HERE! WELCOME BACK! BUT WHY ARE YOU LATE?" I looked to Arthur, who simply rolled his eyes and went back to chatting with the younger Weasley's and Harry. Now I was slightly more worried - Molly was stressed. Perhaps tonight was not the night? No, I couldn't back out now. "ISABEL! CHARLIE! COME ALONG AND HELP ME!" I rose from my seat quickly and walked over to Molly. She shoved a salad bowl into my hand then waved me away.

"Don't worry," Charlie whispered to me, seeing my changed expression. "She's always like this on New Years Eve. Wants it to go out with a bang, you know?" Oh, Charlie, if only you knew the real reason. I turned around and placed the salad on the table, then took my seat back next to Fred. Molly placed the last few platters and pots of food on the table, then collapsed into her own chair.

"Well, I do hope you enjoy it after how long that just took me!"

"We will, Mum," Bill said with a smile. "Do we ever not enjoy your cooking?"

"That's true." Everyone began to fill their plates with food, then went back to their own conversations. I sat there, staring at my plate. It seemed like everything was a blur around me. I was working out the best way to tell everyone about my relationship with Fred. I couldn't just stand up and say, 'hey, Fred and I are dating' - it'd give Molly a heart attack. I would just sit patiently and wait for the right time...or until Fred spoke up.

"So, Bill, Fleur, how are your wedding plans going?" Arthur asked, obviously wanting to create conversation at the table that involved everyone. I swore I saw Ginny and Molly tense up at my sisters name. I knew they weren't a fan of her, but she'd win them over eventually. She always won everybody over.

"Wonderful!" Fleur exclaimed. "I ordered ze dress yesterday!" She clapped her hands together and beamed at everyone at the table. This wedding was Fleur's time to shine. She would find a way to make it simple, but bold at the exact same time. That was simply Fleur's style.

"How about you, Ron?" Harry asked, a smirk on his face. "Any girls taken your fancy?" We all turned to Ron in surprise. Was he talking about Hermione? I always knew they'd be together...

"Shut up, Harry," Ron snapped back.

"Doesn't surprise me that you haven't got a girlfriend. Always too chicken to ask Herm - " Fred began before being cut off by his younger brother.

"So, _Fred_, how about you? Seeing as you're the master at this, do you any women that have you interested? Any girlfriends?" Ron asked, before cracking up. I froze. This was the moment. Unless Fred came up with a very convincing lie, this was the moment where everybody would find out that Fred and I were together. I glanced at Fred, trying to signal him to tell them. What would be the point of lying about it now?

"Actually, yes, I do, Ron. You git." The whole Weasley family stopped and stared at Fred in disbelief. I wouldn't think it was that surprising that Fred would have a girlfriend.

"You do?" Molly asked, her face going slightly pale, worrying that it would be another Fleur type of girl. "Who?" Here was the big moment.

"Isabel," he said, putting his arm around me and pulling me in tight. I sat there with an awkward smile on my face. After a few moments of silence, Ron burst out laughing.

"Nice one Fred!" Ron banged his hand on the table, carrying on like it was the funniest joke Fred had ever told. Ron then looked at my face, and the laughter stopped. "You're not joking, are you?"

"Wonderful! This is simply wonderful!" Molly cried out. She jumped up and threw her arms around me. "I have waited so long for this news and here it is!" She kissed my cheeks three times each, then turned to her son, threw her arms around him, and kissed his cheeks too. "Fred, I am so happy! You have done so well!" I looked over to Harry at the end of the table. It was important for me to get his approval over this relationship. He simply smiled back at me and gave me one, slow nod. I beamed back at him, knowing he approved. It hadn't been long after Sirius' death, but to know he approved of Fred and I made me even happier.

"Félicitations!" Fleur cried, kissing me on both cheeks. "You deserve nothing more zen to be happy." As Fleur went back to her seat at the table, I realised I hadn't stopped smiling ever since Fred had announced that we were together. Happiness had finally returned to me. After so long of being miserable, I had changed and I had become this positive, happy person that people wanted to be around. I don't think I had ever felt better.

"I am so happy, Fred," Molly said, wiping a tear that had fallen onto her cheek.

"Mum, please...don't cry..." Fred laughed. As each person at the table slipped back into their own conversations, I leaned my head on Fred's shoulder. It felt good to be so open and not have to be afraid of what anybody would think.

* * *

It was approaching midnight. We had only minutes left to go until 1997 arrived. We didn't know what was ahead of us. We were in the middle of a war, and people we already knew had lost their lives. There was only one thing we knew for sure - as long as we stuck together, we could survive this war. Family was now what mattered, and as long as we walked through this war together, nothing could touch us. I looked around at the room. There was such unity...a sense of real family.

1996 had been a difficult year. I had experienced my worst nightmare in June, and the rest of the year from there had been difficult, until now. And it was time to leave all those bad experiences behind and move forward with my life.

"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Fred, George and Ginny shouted. Bill and Fleur embraced, as did Molly and Arthur. Ron and Harry gave each other a hug, and Charlie popped the bottle of wine he was holding in his hand and began to drink straight from the bottle.

"Happy New Year," Fred whispered, kissing my lips softly.

"Happy New Year," I whispered back after pulling away.

"ISN'T THIS SIMPLY WONDERFUL, ARTHUR?" Molly shouted at her husband. I looked over to her and Arthur, staring at Fred and I. Molly was beaming from ear to ear, clapping her hands together. Arthur nodded and put his hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Indeed it is!"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! So, so busy! Next chapter and the chapter after (especially the chapter after) will be quite big so get excited!  
**

**Another reason as to my lateness, there is a new fanfic trailer! Head over to the tumblr to see it!  
**

**REVIEWS! We got a couple of new readers last chapter so hello, welcome to the story!  
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**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter:  
**Remus and I walked along the sandy path silently, listening to the waves crash onto the shore. I didn't know why Remus had chosen to bring me here. Sirius had never talked about a liking for the beach. However, it was still beautiful, and I'm sure he would have liked to spend his time here as a free man. I looked up at Remus, who seemed to be finding this day as difficult as I was. He had lost his brother, the only family he had left. It was honestly heartbreaking.


	99. A Year Ago Today

**Thanks to: Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, xXChaosForeverXx, Kimm-Norwood and HPFan for your reviews. [Disappointing amount of reviews guys, try and lift the number up this chapter?] **

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Every single theme is a new theme, so go to the tumblr to see them!  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Sirius' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Away From U by Oberhofer  
Fear and Loathing by Marina & The Diamonds  
Saving Grace by Pete Murray  
One Last Time by the Kooks**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

It was strange how easily Fred and I had established a routine as a couple. I hadn't felt this normal since I was at school when I was a teenager. Andromeda had gotten used to Fred coming over after New Year's Eve. At first she was a little hesitant, but she had a reason to. My record with men had been quite terrible. And it didn't help that Fred was younger than me by two years. She thought his immaturity would impact our relationship. That made me laugh, considering I had been the young one in my relationships with Sirius and Remus. Andromeda eventually accepted it, and came to really warm to Fred.

So the weeks passed, and I spent my time helping Fred and George with mail orders for their shop, and helping Andie with the daily chores, such as cooking and cleaning. It was amazing how I felt right at home doing cooking and cleaning. I had never found myself as the stay at home, mother type, but funnily enough, it came to me naturally. Fred found it funnier than I did, comparing me to Molly at any chance he got.

"So, plans for tomorrow? First day of February?" Fred asked, putting his arms around my waist from behind as I closed the last box of mail orders, scheduled to be sent out the next day.

"Remus wants me to go over to his house, something important he says." Fred groaned.

"Why? I wanted you all to myself!"

"You can have me" I told him, turning around to face him. "I'll go see Remus during the day, and then you can come over to my house during the night. Tonks is at work and Andromeda and Ted are visiting Ted's family, however you can only come over on one condition."

"Anything."

"You do all my mail orders for the next week. I promise, I'll make it worth your while." As I leaned up and kissed Fred's cheek quickly, I felt him go hot at my words. I smirked at him, then left quickly without another word. I hoped he would listen to my request.

* * *

I sat in Remus' dining room, taking sips from my teacup. I had not seen my best friend in so long that it felt unnatural to be back here. We worked out that the last time I saw him was on Christmas Day - far too long.

"Isabel, I need to tell you something. Something important," Remus said. His tone was more serious than it was when I had arrived, which had me nervous. Serious conversations with Remus usually did not turn out well. "It's funny, because it's the reason I invited you over today and we haven't even spoken about it. I'm not sure if you're going to be mad, or happy, but I feel like I need to tell you anyway."

"You know you can tell me anything, Remus," I said with a nod, my nerves growing. What could I possibly get mad about?

"Tonks and I are together."

"Really?" I said. That was all I could manage. It was strange. I thought not long ago that he had decided not to get involved with her? They were obviously one of those on and off couples. I also told myself I would support a relationship between Remus and Tonks, but now it was happening, I didn't know how I felt. Would Tonks not have any time for me anymore? Would Remus just brush me aside? "So, when did this happen?" I asked him.

"Last week. Tonks was begging and I decided we'd give us a chance."

"So you only gave her a chance because she was begging?" I shook my head at him, completely disappointed in him. "Wow, Remus. I really did think you cared for her more than that."

"I'm too old for her, and I cannot provide for - "

"Shut up, Remus. I'm tired of your excuses. You used them on me but that didn't stop you from loving me, and it did not stop me from loving you. It will be the exact same with Tonks. She will not care, Remus. She only wants to be with you. She does not care about how much money you have. That is not the way Tonks operates." Remus went to open his mouth to say something, but then he closed it, giving up. What could he say? There were no more excuses he could make. He knew had no other choice but to listen to me.

"I just do not want to disappoint her."

"You won't disappoint Tonks. She just wants to be with you, in any way she can." I placed my now empty tea cup on the table in front of me and sighed. I wished Remus would see this from my point of view. He could be really, truly happy with Tonks, if he only put in the effort. His excuses were old and tired. He needed to forget about everything except what was truly inside of him - a pure heart that needed to be loved and cared for. I had to change the subject though, I would only drive him away if I continued to push him over the matter. "Speaking of getting together, guess what?"

"What?"

"Fred and I are together."

"Oh." Remus nodded his head, then seemed unsure of what to do next. I guess he was surprised I had moved on from Sirius. Or perhaps he was surprised I had moved on from him? "I never...well, I didn't even know you two were...I never suspected...I'm a tad bit shocked, I apologise if I seem rude." I simply smiled at Remus. I wanted him to know I was happy, and I wanted him to know it was okay to be happy with Tonks. It was okay for us to be happy. After all we had been through, we deserved it. "Fred's good for you," he finally said. "I better warn him if he ever hurts you..."

I laughed at Remus. "Trust me, there will be no need! I think I'm more concerned about hurting him!" I sighed, calming down from my intense laughter. "It's amazing, after all this time, all we've been through, you're still willing to have my back. It's incredible how strong our friendship really is."

"We've weathered every storm," Remus said, nodding his head. "And don't think there's any more storms I wouldn't weather for you, either."

"Thank you," I whispered. I looked up at the time, and smiled again. I couldn't stop smiling at the moment. I guess it was Fred's influence. He just injected so much light and positivity into my life, that a smile graced my face more than it ever had before. "I better get going. I have a few things to do. Don't let it be that long until I see you again, okay?"

"Yes, of course," he said. He kissed my head and smiled as I stood up. No matter the circumstance, his smile never failed to melt my insides. "I'll see you around, Isabel." As I left, his last words kept playing over and over in my head. His goodbye was so casual, it stumped me. Nothing with Remus and I was ever casual, until now. Maybe this was a good thing? As I walked out into forest just outside Remus' house, I smiled. It was a good thing. Remus and I were finally content with one another. We were finally in a good place. It was a good thing.

* * *

I arrived back home, and it was completely empty, just how I had hoped. I walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner, but I stopped in the doorway to the left of the kitchen when I noticed dinner was already sitting on the dining room table. Had Andromeda cooked something for me then left? I walked into the dining room and sat down cautiously.

"Wine?" I jumped at the sound of the voice. I turned around quickly, and there was Fred. I put my hand on my chest and smacked his arm.

"Don't do that!"

"Is that the way they treat waiters nowadays? That's atrocious!" I rolled my eyes and turned back around to my dinner plate.

"You made this?"

"I'm Molly Weasley's son, I have learned a few things from living with her, believe it or not."

"So it's edible?" I said with a smirk.

"Probably not," he replied with a shrug. "Was worth a try though. You were impressed for a moment." I laughed and rose from my seat. "So you're not going to eat it?"

"If you say it isn't edible, it's probably wise to stay clear of it." I smiled as I put my arms around his neck. "I do appreciate you trying though," I told him, giving him a quick kiss. "So, we have the house to ourselves tonight. Ted and Andie have gone to down south to take care of some private business, and Tonks is staying with Remus." Fred raised his eyebrows and put his arms around me, gripping my waist tightly. I smirked up at him, knowing what he was alluding to. "What do you want to do for the rest of the night?

"Let me think, I'm alone for the whole night with my girlfriend - " Fred began before I cut him off, pressing my lips to his. He definitely appreciated the gesture, kissing me back just as passionately. He picked me up and carried me all the way up the stairs and into my bedroom. As he placed me down on the bed, his attention was now on my neck. I held the back of his neck as he kissed my own. I shut my eyes, enjoying every soft kiss.

"You know how much I adore you?" He whispered into my ear. A small smirk appeared on my face, as I flipped us over gently. I leaned down and kissed his now bare chest softly. I could feel his hands move up to my waist and grip it tightly. In his arms I felt more safe and free than I had ever felt before. And I felt sexy, and beautiful, and strong...and happy. Maybe it was too early to say, but I knew that I was falling in love with Fred, and falling faster and harder than I ever had before.

* * *

"You really know how to put on a good show," Fred said, grinning down at me. I laughed under my breath at him, snuggling up to his side, resting my head on his chest. I just wanted to stay here forever. "I don't think you understand how utterly perfect you are," Fred whispered, stroking my hair.

"I've never told you this before," I said softly, looking up at him, "but whenever you touch my skin, like now, it feels like my nerves are on fire. I've never felt this way with anyone before, Fred. Not like this." He did nothing but smile. I knew he would feel good about that, and now he would know that this isn't just a one sided relationship. "I adore you so much," I told him, placing my hand on his cheek gently. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine quickly, then sat back. I snuggled up closer to him and shut my eyes. Nothing had ever been more perfect than this moment. I wasn't falling in love with Fred Weasley. I was already in love with him.

* * *

**MARCH**

* * *

**APRIL**

* * *

**MAY**

* * *

**JUNE**

"June eighteenth," I whispered, looking at my calendar. Today was a day that I had been dreading for so long. On this morning, one year ago, I was waking up for the first time next to my fiancé. Hours later, he was dead. Today was the one year anniversary of Sirius' death. I dragged myself out of bed and opened my curtains. It was a beautiful summer morning. As I opened the window, a ray of light hit me, it's beautiful warmth getting beneath my skin.

"Hey, Sirius," I whispered, closing my eyes and taking the sun in. A year ago today, he was taken from me, and taken in the worst way possible. His death had been so traumatic for me, but now, I had closure. I knew that Sirius would have wanted me to be happy, and I was. I took my coat from the chair and slipped it on. Today was a day of reflection, and celebrating the times I had with Sirius.

* * *

Remus and I walked along the sandy path silently, listening to the waves crash onto the shore. I didn't know why Remus had chosen to bring me here. Sirius had never talked about a liking for the beach. However, it was still beautiful, and I'm sure he would have liked to spend his time here as a free man. I looked up at Remus, who seemed to be finding this day as difficult as I was. He had lost his brother, the only family he had left. It was honestly heartbreaking.

"Remus?"

"Yes?"

"What is this place? I mean, why are we here? Sirius never mentioned anything about a beach to me."

"We used to come here when we were boys," Remus told me. "James, Sirius and I, during our summer holidays, we used to come here with the James and his parents. Sometimes we'd spend the whole day here and not want to leave. Sirius enjoyed it the most, because he was the one with the hardest lifestyle. He never truly got to go out and have fun. He was kept inside at Grimmauld Place as a child, only going out to attend Pure-blood events. It took a place like to truly make him feel free."

"That's all he ever deserved...freedom."

"He did have freedom when he died, Isabel," he said with a slight smile. "You gave him that freedom." Remus stopped and sat down on the sand, patting a spot next to him for me to sit down in. "I suppose you're tired of hearing how much he loved you, but I had never seen someone so dedicated to a person. What we did to him was wrong, Isabel. Mainly me. I shouldn't have touched you when you were with him. I betrayed my own family. I just, I get so angry at myself when I think of how upset he was over us." A tear fell onto my cheek. I had hurt Sirius so badly.

"We're just lucky he loved us both enough to move past it," I said, nodding. I picked up and handful of sand, then opened my palm so the sand dropped back onto the shore. "I wonder how Harry is handling today."

"Not very well, I'd imagine."

"I feel like there is more we could have done to help him, Remus. I feel like we've just left him out on his own to deal with all of this." I remembered how angry and furious Harry was after Sirius had died, rushing after Bellatrix to kill her. I then remembered how he told me that he had isolated himself, not wanting to speak to anyone at all. I hoped he wasn't distancing himself like that anymore. He needed the people he loved around him today.

"Perhaps we could have done more, but we had to abide by Harry's wishes. I trust in Harry. He is strong and resilient. He's probably handling today well. We have to have faith in him to make the right decisions for himself. And I am sure he is." Remus was right, Harry was strong. Stronger than all of us combined. There was no need to worry over him. I looked into the bag I had with me and took out the picture from the bottom of the box I had packed away. I hadn't seen it in so long, I had almost forgotten how truly happy he looked in this photo, and how happy I looked. I kissed it, then held it tight to me. How I missed him, and the way he would make me feel so loved. Some people thought our love was nothing but just a silly young crush from me, and sexual attraction on his part. How wrong they all were. Remus put his arm around me and pulled me in close as the tears started to fall from my cheeks. Remus rocked us back and forth as the ocean wind blew and the waves crashed onto the shore.

"I miss him," I said, wiping my tears off my cheeks and attempting to get my breathing back to normal. "I miss him so much."

"I know," he said, kissing my head. "I miss him too."

* * *

Remus walked me up to the front door step, a smile on his face. Today had been hard for the both of us, but every year was going to be hard for us. We would never forget the moment he fell back into the archway, but there was no point in us not moving on. Sirius wouldn't have wanted that.

"Thank you for today," I told him with a nod. "I think we both needed this."

"Never feel ashamed of missing him, Isabel," Remus said, putting his arms around me for one last hug. "People understand." He was obviously referring to Fred. I was worried - we had been going so well and I didn't want him to feel like he was always going to be second in line. I nodded at Remus, then walked inside. To my surprise, Fred was sitting on the main staircase. I shut the door behind me, then went to sit down next to Fred.

"Hey," I said, taking his hand. "How long have you been waiting here?"

"All day," he replied. "Andromeda told me you had gone out with Remus, and then I realised what day it was. I'm sorry." I sighed and sat down next to him. I knew that Fred was always going to feel like he was second to Sirius, and it's true that if Sirius was not dead that Fred wouldn't be in my life the way he is now, but at the moment, I couldn't imagine my life without Fred by my side as my boyfriend. "I guess...I don't know what to say to you right now, Isabel."

"Don't say anything," I whispered to him, placing my hand on his cheek. "I loved Sirius, that's true. And I always will. He was snatched from me, and I don't think I'll ever be completely over it. There won't be a day when I don't think about him...but there won't be a day when I don't think of you, either. I love you, Fred Weasley." His eyes brightened, and a smile graced his face. My face lit up too, as I was finally able to say it. After six months of dating, I was able to say it for sure.

"I love you," I repeated, smiling. "And there is no one else I'd rather be with."

"I love you," he whispered back. I kissed him quickly, then rested my head on his shoulder. Life never asked me what I wanted, but right now, I wouldn't want it any other way.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the late update again! Been so busy!  
**

**I've chosen out all new themes for the characters and the relationships, so head on over to the tumblr to see them and tell me what you think, and then also, we have a new trailer, so head to this link to see it -  
youtube dotcom(forward slash) watch ? v=q6 b pTi Mel 3I**

**Tumblr - [New Themes!]  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**REVIEWS, GUYS!  
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**Next Chapter: [NOTE - EXTREMELY HUGE CHAPTER]  
**A crowd had built up outside the front doors of the castle. They were all walking the same way, whispering, talking amongst themselves. The masses of students all headed towards the grass at the foot of the Astronomy Tower. What had happened? Was there a dead Death Eater? As Remus and I walked closer to the foot of the Astronomy Tower, I could see the students faces. Some were hysterical, crying on the ground, shaking, unable to breath. Some stared at the same spot in absolute silence. When Remus and I reached the front, I screamed, my hand instantly going to cover my mouth. Dumbledore's dead body laid on the ground. The man who we had all looked up to for years, the man who had always vowed to keep us safe...the man we were relying on, was dead. I dropped to my knees, holding my hands in front of my mouth. I felt like I was to be violently ill at any moment.

* * *

"Snape killed him." My legs buckled and I fell to the floor, holding my hand over my mouth, shaking uncontrollably. No. No, he did not. He _was _not. Father was loyal to Dumbledore, to the Order, to me. He didn't, he didn't, he didn't. I looked up at Harry, my eyes pleading for him to say he was lying, to say he was just fooling us all. Remus knelt down next to me, putting his arms around me to help stand me up.

"No, Harry," I cried, shaking my head. "Please, no."


	100. Battle of the Astronomy Tower

**Thanks to: TheDiva121, Mel, thingsleftdesired (times 17), HPFan, Kimm-Norwood, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, xXChaosForeverXx, IcyRose66 and Guest for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Severus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Battle Theme [See Tumblr]  
Hurt Me by the Jezabels  
Siren Song by Bat For Lashes  
O'Sister by City and Colour  
Ghosts by James Vincent McMorrow**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Bill, what's going on?" I asked as he barged into the room. It was the last day of June. I was busy helping Fred with his mail orders that he needed to send out tomorrow. George was at the shop, packing what needed to be sent out tomorrow. I didn't have time for anything else, especially Bill. He probably was just having an issue with bridezilla, also known as my sister, Fleur.

"We've been summoned by Professor Dumbledore to Hogwarts." I froze. What would he be needing us for? Surely the Death Eaters hadn't found their way in, the defences were too advanced. It wasn't possible for them to get in.

"Me too?" Fred asked.

"No, not you. Just Isabel and I. He's going on some sort of mission and he needs some Order members to patrol Hogwarts just incase the Death Eaters try to get in." I breathed a sigh of relief, it was just precautionary.

"Who are the other Order members?"

"Lupin and Tonks. That's all I know." So it wasn't serious. If it was, Dumbledore would have summoned more Order members. I was thankful.

"Let's go then." I turned to Fred and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll see you in a couple of hours."

* * *

Bill and I arrived at Hogwarts, after a long and rough journey, to see everything was normal. Tonks and Remus met us in the Viaduct Courtyard, and they also seemed confused as to why we were here. Yes, Dumbledore was going on a mission, but were we necessary? Did Hogwarts not have the necessary defences already?

"So, what are we going to do now?" I asked the three of them. Tonks shrugged her shoulders.

"We may as well just patrol in pairs. I'll go with Remus, you go with Bill," she said. Tonks would do absolutely anything to spend more time with Remus.

"Fine," I told her. "We'll see you guys later." Bill and I turned around and walked off, wands out. This was going to be a long, uneventful night.

* * *

Bill and I wandered around the castle aimlessly all night, even running out of things to talk about. Nothing at all had happened. I was even questioning why Dumbledore did this to us? I could have been spending the night with Fred, and Bill could have been with Fleur. What a complete waste of our time. I had even contemplated putting my wand away, because it was becoming increasingly obvious that there was no danger to us at all.

"Well, what a bore this has been," I said. "When do you think we'll be dismissed?"

"I don't know. Why? You want to go home to your precious little Fred?" Bill teased. I hit him on the arm, he had nothing to tease me about! "What was that for? You two really need to learn to be quiet during the late hours of the night. How d'you think Mum feels hearing those types of _sounds_?" I glared at Bill, I never knew he could act like such a child.

"You know we would never, especially with Molly around." I continued walking, but I noticed Bill was no longer next to me. "Bill?" I turned around numerous times, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Bill?" My tone was becoming more urgent. "BILL, WHERE - " I screamed as an arm went around my neck. "BILL! BILL!" I screamed. I turned my head up to see Fenrir Greyback holding me tightly. He smirked down at me, then began to smell my hair. "NO! BILL!" I screamed again. Where was he? He needed to come save me, this couldn't happen to me. I could feel his lips touch my neck, when suddenly he was blasted backwards. I ran over to Remus, who was the one who had blasted Greyback out of the way. I ran over to him, almost collapsing in his arms. "How are they here?" I asked in disbelief, not allowing myself to cry. "Where are the rest of them? Where is Bill?" Before Remus could answer, a group of Death Eaters ran around the corner. I shot a curse straight away at the one on the very left. I did not know what his name was, I only knew that I had to destroy him.

"Expelliarmus!" I shouted, sending the spell his way. He blocked it and send a jet of green light back at me. I moved out of the way with a millisecond to spare. I sent curse after curse at the bastard. I was that angry they had found their way into Hogwarts that I wanted to kill them. I blasted a curse at this Death Eater. He went flying back and hit the back wall, falling to the ground, hurt. "Petrificus Totalus!" That would buy me some time.

"Impedimenta!" I heard Harry yell. Harry? Where did he even come from? I then looked around me. Ron, Remus, Minerva and Tonks were all battling Death Eaters. But where was Bill?

"Take that!" Minerva shouted. I glanced to my right to see two Death Eaters running down the corridor, away from Minerva.

"ISABEL, WATCH - " Before the person yelling at me could finish, I was blasted off my feet and into a pile of rubble. I looked up to see the Death Eater who had blasted me was sent flying away himself. Remus ran up to me and helped me up. He was the one who had yelled at me to watch out. "Are you alright?" I nodded then went back to battle, cursing the first Death Eater I made eye contact with. The remainder of the Death Eaters were dealt with, as they ran away as fast as they could. We were too powerful for them.

"What do we do now?" Ron asked Minerva. I walked over to the broken window and stared up into the sky.

"The Dark Mark," I said. Ron, Minerva, Remus, Tonks and Ginny gathered behind me and stared up themselves. "Something's wrong." I turned around to see students walking around, chatting about the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark. When they spotted us, they all ran up at once, shouting questions, wanting answers. We could not answer them, they were too loud and too scared. We just needed to move on and assess the damage that had been done.

* * *

A crowd had built up outside the front doors of the castle. They were all walking the same way, whispering, talking amongst themselves. The masses of students all headed towards the grass at the foot of the Astronomy Tower. What had happened? Was there a dead Death Eater? As Remus and I walked closer to the foot of the Astronomy Tower, I could see the students faces. Some were hysterical, crying on the ground, shaking, unable to breath. Some stared at the same spot in absolute silence. When Remus and I reached the front, I screamed, my hand instantly going to cover my mouth. Dumbledore's dead body laid on the ground. The man who we had all looked up to for years, the man who had always vowed to keep us safe...the man we were relying on, was dead. I dropped to my knees, holding my hands in front of my mouth. I felt like I was to be violently ill at any moment.

"Who did it?" I asked, overcome with grief. Not one person answered. No one knew. I stood up slowly and held onto Remus, shaking uncontrollably. "How is he dead? Has anyone checked him? He can't be dead!" Remus did not reply. He simply stared at the body in front of him, not able to register anything else going on around him. I dug my head into Remus' neck and cried. I couldn't stop. This wasn't supposed to happen. It was Dumbledore. He was never supposed to die.

"Isabel." I turned around, still holding onto Remus, to see Minerva, her tear stained face pale. She looked like a ghost. "You and Remus, you need to go to the hospital wing immediately." I nodded without saying another word, Remus pulling me away from the horrifying scene.

* * *

I walked into the hospital wing, still clinging onto Remus. I was afraid to let go of him, like I would fall and never get back up if I did. Ron, Hermione, Luna Lovegood and Tonks were already sitting at the foot of someone's bed when we arrived. Hermione stood up and walked over to us.

"Professor Lupin, what's happened to Isabel?" She asked.

"I believe she's gone into shock, Hermione," Remus replied, the first time I had heard him speak since he yelled at me to watch out.

"Take her out of here, then, she can't see - "

"Can't see what?" I said, looking up at Hermione. Hermione sighed and led Remus and I over to the foot of the bed. I screamed when my eyes made contact with the person lying in the bed. I let go of Remus and ran over to the side of the bed. Bill was lying on the bed, his face slashed and ripped. It was so horrible, his face was practically deformed. This was from when he disappeared, I just knew it. "What happened?" I asked up at Ron.

"Greyback."

"No," I said, looking back down at Bill, shaking my head furiously. "He can't be, no, no, no. Greyback was't turned. He can't be." I looked up at Remus, my eyes desperate. "Please tell me he isn't - "

"I don't think so. Greyback was not in his werewolf form when he bit Bill. I'm quite sure he won't be, Isabel." I ran my hand through Bill's hair. I only hoped Remus was right, I did not want to see my best friend go through what Remus had to go through every month. It was the last thing I would wish upon anyone. My head snapped up when I heard the doors open. Ginny and Harry had arrived. Hermione ran over to Harry and threw her arms around him. Remus got up and walked towards Harry. I stood up to let Ginny have access to her brother.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Remus asked.

"I'm fine. How's Bill?" I saw Harry looking over Hermione's shoulder, his face full of shock when his eyes met Bill's face. He moved past Hermione and over to the foot of Bill's bed. "Can't you fix them with a charm or something?" If only it were that simple...

"No charm will work on these," Poppy said. "I've tried everything I know, but there is no cure for werewolf bites." I shuddered at the words _werewolf bites_.

"But he wasn't bitten on the full moon. Greyback hadn't transformed, so surely Bill won't be a real..." Ron paused and looked towards Remus, needing confirmation again of what was going to happen to his brother.

"No, I don't think that Bill will be a true werewolf," Remus sighed. "But that does not mean there won't be some contamination." I looked up at Remus, my eyes wide.

"Contamination?" I asked, my voice full of fear.

"Those are cursed wounds. They are unlikely to ever heal fully, and - Bill might have some wolfish characteristics from now on." My head dropped. Bill never deserved this. He was about to be married. My heart broke for him and for Fleur.

"Dumbledore might know something that'd work, though," Ron said. Oh god, he didn't know. I covered my mouth to stop a loud cry from coming out. "Where is he? Bill fought those maniacs on Dumbledore's orders, Dumbledore owes him, he can't leave him in this state - "

"Ron...Dumbledore's dead," Ginny said.

"No!" Ron shouted, shaking his head. "No!" He looked to Harry, hoping Harry would say he was not, but when Harry remained silent, Ron fell back into a chair, continuing shaking his head. Remus leaned against the wall, his face in his hands. I had never seen either of them act like this before.

"How did he die? How did it happen?" Tonks whispered. Harry looked to me, then looked back at the group.

"Snape killed him." My legs buckled and I fell to the floor, holding my hand over my mouth, shaking uncontrollably. No. No, he did not. He _was _not. Father was loyal to Dumbledore, to the Order, to me. He didn't, he didn't, he didn't. I looked up at Harry, my eyes pleading for him to say he was lying, to say he was just fooling us all. Remus knelt down next to me, putting his arms around me to help stand me up.

"No, Harry," I cried, shaking my head. "Please, no."

"I'm sorry, Isabel. I was there. I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower, because that's were the mark was...Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realised it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilised me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility cloak - and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him." This was becoming even more of a nightmare. Not Draco, not Father. No. They couldn't have. "More Death Eaters arrived, and then Snape. And Snape did it. The Avada Kedavara." Everyone turned to look at me, except for Poppy, who had burst into tears. I felt physically ill, like I would vomit. I leaned over the foot of Bill's bed and continued shaking my head, but how could I deny what was right in front of me?

"Ssh! Listen!" There was a sound, a sound so utterly heartbreaking. A phoenix was singing, singing in the most devastating way. We all stood there in silence as the phoenix cried out their song, that was, until, we were brought back into what was happening in the ward when Minerva arrived.

"Molly and Arthur are on their way," she said. "Harry, what happened?" She asked, walking up to us. "According to Hagrid you were with Professor Dumbledore when he...when it happened. He says Professor Snape was involved in some - "

"Snape killed Dumbledore." Poppy immediately took out a chair, in which Minerva fell backwards into it seconds later.

"Snape. We all wondered...but he trusted...always...Snape...I cannot believe it." She looked up at me in disbelief. My eyes were burning from the tears that I could not stop. My hand had not left my lips.

"Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens, we always knew that," Remus said, his tone rough and harsh.

"But Dumbledore swore he was on our side! I always thought Dumbledore must know something about Snape that we didn't..."

"He always hinted that he had an iron-clad reason for trusting Snape. I mean, with Snape's history, of course people were bound to wonder, but Dumbledore always told me explicitly that Snape's repentance was absolutely genuine...wouldn't hear a word against him!" That was it, I couldn't hear any more of it.

"Excuse me, I think I'm going to be ill," I interrupted before running out of the hospital wing. I ran to the nearest balcony to the hospital wing and vomited. I was so disgusted by what had happened tonight, so full of hatred for my father. How could he this to us...to me? I vomited again. I couldn't help it, it just kept coming up.

"Isabel?" I turned to see Poppy. "Did you just vomit? Here, let me - "

"Why am I vomiting?" I cried. "What has he done, Poppy? What did he do?" I fell to my knees and held onto the bottom of her dress.

"Isabel, my dear," she grabbed me and helped me up. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm so angry, I'm furious!" I grabbed out my wand and shot curses everywhere to let out my rage.

"Isabel! ISABEL!" I froze at the sound of Poppy's desperate calls. "Isabel, you need to stop," she said, grabbing my shoulders. I turned around and stared at the sky. The phoenix was flying around, singing whilst crying. It felt just how I feel, heartbroken and alone. It was Dumbledore's phoenix - and now, just like Dumbledore's phoenix, the person I relied on most was gone. After a long while of staring at the phoenix singing, I agreed to go back into the hospital wing. Once I had walked back in, the first thing I laid eyes on was Fleur and Molly, hugging and crying.

"You see!" I looked over to the corner, to see Tonks glaring at Remus. "She still wants to marry him, even though he's been bitten! She doesn't care!" What? I had no idea they were even contemplating marriage!

"It's different. Bill will not be a full werewolf. The cases are completely - "

"But I don't care either, I don't care!" Tonks grabbed the front of Remus' robes and started to shake them like a mad woman. "I've told you a million times..."

"And I've told you a million times that I am too old for you, too poor and too dangerous!" I rolled my eyes at him.

"You're still using that ridiculous line? You used it on me, and now you're still using it on her? Give it up, Remus." I said. Remus and Tonks turned to me, as did everyone else, surprised that I could still speak.

"I am not being ridiculous," Remus said at me, obviously shocked that I would side with Tonks on this. "Tonks deserves someone young and whole."

"But she wants you," Arthur said. "And after all Remus, young and whole men do not remain so."

"This is not the moment to discuss it. Dumbledore is dead." Whenever I heard those words, a little part of me snapped. And to think it was because of my father...

"Dumbledore would have been happier than anybody to think there was a little more love in the world." The hospital doors opened yet again, and we all looked to see Hagrid enter.

"I've done it...Professor..." Hagrid choked out. "I-I moved in. Professor Sprout got the kids back in bed. Professor Flitwick's lyin' down but he says he'll be all right in a jiffy, an' Professor Slughorn says the Ministry's bin informed."

"Thank you, Hagrid," Minerva said, rising from her seat. She turned towards us all and cleared her throat. "I shall gave to see the Ministry when they get here. Hagrid," she turned back around to the half-giant, "please tell the Heads of House, Slughorn can represent Slytherin, that I want to see them in my office forthwith. I would like you to join us, too." Hagrid nodded, turned and left the room. Minerva and Harry soon followed suit, leaving the room. Only moments later, did three others join us.

"Fred!" I shouted. I ran towards him and jumped up to hug him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly, swaying me back and forth. I didn't want to let go. He was the only person that I needed right now. I cried into his neck hysterically. I wondered if he knew? Did he know about my father? Fred kept his arms wrapped around me, but began to walk over to the bed where his brother laid. George and Charlie sat next to him, staring at their brothers mutilated face.

"Is it true? Is Dumbledore dead?" Charlie asked up at the group. Ginny nodded at her brother. "How?"

"Snape," Tonks told him, her tone filled with venom and hatred. Fred's arms dropped and he stepped away from me.

"Your father did this?" He asked, his face full of disbelief. "He didn't...he couldn't..._you_..."

"Fred, she didn't do a thing," Remus said, walking over to him. "She was fighting with the Order, she was almost bitten by Greyback, just like Bill was. She had no part in Dumbledore's death." Fred stared at me, shaking his head. I grabbed his hands and my eyes pleaded with him.

"Freddie, you know this wasn't me," I whispered. He sighed and pulled me in, holding me tightly once again. He kissed my head and stroked my hair. Finally, I felt like somehow, I was safe.

* * *

Hours had passed, and I had arrived at Dumbledore's office promptly as I could. When I opened the door, Kingsley, Mad Eye, Minerva, Arthur, Molly, Fred, George, Remus, Tonks, Fleur, Charlie, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Order turned towards me, all standing around Dumbledore's desk. The situation I was in was complicated. My father had just sided with the Death Eaters and betrayed the Order. I was his blood. I was not my father though, and they would have to place their trust in me. I found that was going to be difficult though; some members of the Order gave me death stares the moment they laid eyes on me, while others, including Tonks, didn't even bother looking at me.

"Good evening, Isabel," Kingsley said calmly. Kingsley could obviously tell that I was uncomfortable at the moment. I was glad that he hadn't just snapped at me the moment I walked in.

"Yeah, _Snape_, thank you for coming to this very important meeting for the most _loyal _Order members," Tonks spat at me. Tonks, my best friend, had turned her back on me. She knew I had no part in the Death Eaters. She knew, yet she still turned her back on me the first chance she got. I expected a hostile audience, but I never expected Tonks to be the first one to jump down my throat.

"What is your problem, Tonks?" I snapped. Tonks walked over to me and slapped me in the face. There was a verbal reaction from some people in the room, including a very loud gasp coming from Molly. My best friend, slapped me in the face, when I had done nothing wrong. I was over it all. Before I could retaliate, I felt someone restrain me. I turned my head to see Fred, his arms around my waist. His eyes warned me not to return the attack. I looked back at Tonks, who was being held back by Remus.

"My problem?" Tonks scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Your backstabbing git of a father betrayed us! He killed Albus Dumbledore! He's a _Snape_, just like you!" She was struggling, attempting to release herself from Remus' grip, but it didn't work. Remus was much too strong for Tonks.

"You think I planned for this to happen?" I asked her.

"Perhaps? Who knows? Are you owning up to it? Maybe you're one of them, too! Someone get some Veritaserum! Who knows, maybe you're very _close _with You-Know-Who, seeing as you're very _close _with other men. How's Fred going nowadays? Satisfying you enough so you don't need another man on the side, just like you had with Sirius? Was my boyfriend a good side dish to Sirius, the main course?"

"C'est vraiment des conneries," launching myself at Tonks. I was behind held back by Fred once again. If I couldn't physically attack the bitch, I was going to verbally assault her in a language she couldn't understand. "Tu es completement débile. Je t'emmerde, petite pute! Stupid bitch." I could see Fleur in the corner, holding her hands over her mouth, shocked by what I was saying.

"Isabel, Tonks that's enough! Molly, get Nymphadora out of here," Mad-Eye snapped. Molly obliged, pulling Tonks out of the room with her. I stood there, tears falling onto my cheeks. My best friend no longer wanted anything to do with me. She hated me just because of something my father did. Tonks had been there through the good and the bad with me, but she no longer wanted to know who I was. I felt Fred pulling me into his arms. He held me close to him and rocked me back and forwards to calm me down. I was now a mess.

"Are you alright, Isabel?" Arthur asked me, placing his hand on my shoulder. I shook my head and wiped my tears from my cheeks.

"I'm never going to be alright with this! Look at what he has done for me! Look at what he has left me to deal with. All those years I thought he was the only person I could trust! Now he's turned even my best friend against me, all because of my last name!" I stared at the ground, shaking my head. How dare he do this to me. How dare he leave this fate for me. "I hate him."

"Hate who?" Minerva asked.

"My father. Though, I do not class him as such a thing anymore. I just want to kill him for what he has done." I turned to all the Order members, staring down at them. "If any of you get him within killing range, please, call me over so I can finish the job. Because at the end of the day, he may have left a bad fate for our world, but for me, he is my father, my blood. My fate has become so much worse. If anyone is to kill him, no one deserves it more than me."

* * *

When the meeting was dismissed, I walked over to Remus. He was the only one that would know why Tonks was acting the way she was. It was completely ridiculous, my best friend, turning her back on my yet again. I was growing sick of her childish ways. She knew I had nothing to do with Dumbledore's death. She knew! Obviously, all these years we've built up our friendship and trust, mean nothing to her. I was completely and utterly hurt.

"Remus," I said, charging up to him. I was not in the mood for anyone's bullshit.

"Isabel," Remus sighed. "I am so sorry for what Nymphadora said to you. She had no right to do that."

"She didn't," I replied, nodding, "I'm fine though. Just fine."

"Don't try and hide this from me, Isabel. I'm not an idiot, I'm your best friend." And the man you used to be in love with. "I know when things are wrong with you. Your father just murdered Dumbledore, and people are treating you like dirt. Don't tell me nothing is wrong." I nodded and bit my bottom lip, trying to hold back tears. I had to convince myself I was fine. I was in a war, I couldn't afford to crumble. On the inside, sure I could crumble, but on the outside, I had to show everyone I was fine and but on a brave face.

"How about we have dinner after the funeral." As if Tonks would be fine with the girl who used to be in love with her, whatever they were, to be around. I was a threat to her relationship with Remus, and she wanted that threat destroyed.

"Where?" I asked.

"You come over to my place. Dora is at work that night." I was afraid of what Tonks, or Andromeda, would say, but Remus was my friend too. I could do whatever I wanted with him. My friendship with him was none of her business.

"I'll be there."

* * *

"What were you and Remus talking about earlier?" Fred asked me as we sat on my bed, cuddled up to each other, his fingers intwined in mine. Tonight had been so shocking that I just needed to lie in his arms and feel safe. I felt so incredibly stupid, and began to regret what I said at the beginning of the evening. As if Dumbledore would have sent us there without reason.

"He invited me over to dinner tomorrow night." Fred raised his eyebrows.

"Is he stealing my girl?" I rolled my eyes at Fred, he knew I would never do anything with Remus. I would never hurt him like that. I loved Fred too much.

"Don't be silly, Fred. He's my best friend."

"I know, I'm just stirring you up. It's good. What you need right now is friends. Although, what does Tonks think about you having dinner with Remus."

"She doesn't know, she'll be at work. I don't know what she should be worried about, though. Remus is happy with her, I'm happy with you." I didn't even care what Tonks thought anyway. After her little outburst today, she didn't deserve anything from me.

"You two have history together."

"I love you, alright. I wouldn't try anything with Remus. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I know that." He sighed and kissed my head. I was still a little shaky from earlier tonight, and he was trying to calm me down the only way he knew how. "How are you feeling? About your father? I can't imagine this would be easy for you."

"What can I do about it? I should try to get on with my life rather than worry about him. I have to be normal."

"This isn't going to be normal, anymore, Isabel. We're in a war, and you'll be a target now." I knew that I was going to be targeted, Bellatrix Lestrange would make sure of that. She knew what I was to Sirius, and I could tell that she wanted me. Father would probably encourage her. I also knew that Lucius Malfoy wanted me too, but for completely different reasons.

"I just need to sleep, Freddie. I'm sorry, I can't talk about this right now. I just...I feel sick over it all."

"Of course," he whispered. He kissed me on the head one last time before I rested my head on his chest. Slowly but surely, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Fred and I arrived at the funeral, hand in hand. It was the first time we'd been out in the wizarding public together. I couldn't help but think that it was strange, as we had been together for months on end. Obviously this war restricted us from going anywhere. I was scared about what people were going to say about us, but like I've said for so long now, I couldn't spend my life running and hiding from things. It had practically become my own personal motto. We sat down in chairs near the front. Fred next to George, myself next to Fleur. I could see Remus and Tonks not far from us, holding hands. I was still disgusted with Tonks' actions of the other night, but I was happy that they had worked themselves out. It seemed like everyone turned up here, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye, Arthur, Molly, Bill, Madame Maxime, Tom, the landlord of the Leaky Cauldron, members of the Weird Sisters, Madam Malkin, Rita Skeeter, members of the Ministry, Cornelius Fudge, Scrimgeour, Percy,...even the disgusting Dolores Umbridge was here.

I spent most of the ceremony crying in Fred's arms, or hiding from the glares that people were sending me. My father had done this to me, left me with this to deal with. I even had someone spit in my direction at one point. Fred told me continuously to ignore them, but I could not. The only ones that did not look at me with hatred were some members of the Order. I could not deal with this any longer. I rose from my chair and left the funeral as quickly as I could. I was a Snape. I was his daughter. I was not welcome.

* * *

**A/N: I changed from Remus not knowing about Dumbledore's death to him knowing before he was at the hospital wing just for a little bit of dramatic effect! And so Severus has left Isabel with this to deal with, great chap. All I can say is poor Isabel.**

**Over 700 reviews! All I can say is, wow! Can we get over 800 by the end of the story? Or even 900?**

**French sayings in Isabel's rant to Tonks [WARNING, BAD LANGUAGE!]:  
C'est vraiment des conneries - This is really bullshit.  
Tu es completement débile - You are a complete moron.  
Je t'emmerde, petite pute - Screw you, little whore.**

**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter:**  
I arrived back home and instantly collapsed against the wall next to the door. It was like everything had hit me all at once. My head fell into my hands as tears began to fall onto my cheeks. The moment I found out Father was the one that killed Dumbledore kept replaying in my head. I knew that people had their doubts about my father and his loyalties, but never did I once think that he wasn't on our side. Not once did I think he'd betray me. I was convinced that Father was on my side, and that he'd stand by my side through anything. And now, he'd left me to fight this war on my own, and fight it against him. Would I have to kill him? Would the Order members make me kill him if it came down to him? Would I be able to point my wand and say those two words to my own father, no matter what side he was on?


	101. Shamed Slytherin

**Thanks to: dudulehianette, Chittsu, Guest, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, HPFan, thingsleftdesired and cinnamonmyra1997 for your reciews of last chapter.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
All of the Lights by Kanye West  
Losing Your Memory by Ryan Star  
Only If For a Night by Florence + The Machine**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

I arrived back home and instantly collapsed against the wall next to the door. It was like everything had hit me all at once. My head fell into my hands as tears began to fall onto my cheeks. The moment I found out Father was the one that killed Dumbledore kept replaying in my head. I knew that people had their doubts about my father and his loyalties, but never did I once think that he wasn't on our side. Not once did I think he'd betray me. I was convinced that Father was on my side, and that he'd stand by my side through anything. And now, he'd left me to fight this war on my own, and fight it against him. Would I have to kill him? Would the Order members make me kill him if it came down to him? Would I be able to point my wand and say those two words to my own father, no matter what side he was on?

What would the rest of the Wizarding community think of me? Would they abandon me too? Would they want me locked up because of my last name? Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked Andromeda, Ted and Fred. Andie was the first to spot me. She knelt down and put her arms around me, rocking me back and forth.

"Come along, darling," she said, helping me up. She put her arms around my shoulders and led me into the dining room, Fred and Ted following. She sat me down, then sat down herself. Fred took the seat next to me and pulled me into his arms, resting my head on his chest.

"We need to talk about what we do now," Ted told us all. "The Death Eaters are most likely going to come into tremendous power now that Dumbledore is...gone. Andie, you will be at no risk. Fred, you will be at some risk considering you are in the Order, but they will spare you because you are a Pureblood. However, I will be at risk. I am a muggle-born, and I - "

"Please don't say it," Andie said, holding her hand up to her husband, shaking her head. "Please."

"Andie, we have to face facts here. If they find me, and find out my blood status, they'll kill me." Ted then turned to me and sighed. "And Isabel, I have no idea what they would do with you." The sad thing was, I knew exactly what they'd do with me. They'd take me and try to change me into one of them...if not, the men would keep me as their little play thing.

"Then what are we to do?" Andie asked, her face pale.

"We wait," Ted told her, patting her hand. "That's all we can do."

"I'm going to bed," I told them, out of the blue.

"It's only early," Andie replied.

"I know, I'm tired. Everything has become such a blur. I just need to rest for a little while."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Fred asked, standing up from the table. I shook my head and waved him away.

"No, I need to be by myself for a while...process everything that's happened. Maybe you should go home, spend some time with your family." He sighed as I turned my back and walked away. I knew he wanted to be there for me, but he had to go back to the Burrow. He had a family that loved him no matter what, unlike me. He needed to be with them at the moment. I walked up the stairs and into my room, shutting the door behind me. I shut the curtains and fell back onto the bed. My head was racing, it wouldn't shut up. I just wanted to shut myself out of the world, and not have to worry about anything that had just happened to me.

* * *

I woke up a couple of hours later from my sleep...my temporary respite. I dragged myself out of bed, put my coat on and placed my wand in my wand pocket. I had promised Remus that I would go over to his house for dinner, and I wasn't one for disappointing people, unlike my father. I walked out onto the porch, then apparated away. A split second later, I was standing outside of Remus' small cottage. It was as if he knew that I was on my way, because he was standing on his porch, like he was waiting for me.

"How are you?" He asked when I stepped onto the porch. I said nothing in return. Instead, I put my arms around him. I didn't know how I was. I didn't know what to say. Maybe actions were better than words right now. "Come inside," he said softly, putting his arm around my shoulder and guiding me into the house. "I'm just finishing cooking, come through to the kitchen." We walked into the small kitchen, and he sat me down in a seat next to the bench.

"You're very quiet." I looked up at him. Why was he so surprised that I was? "I can understand though," he said as he chopped the vegetables on the board. "It's silly, I'm standing here chopping vegetables whilst Dumbledore is dead." He set down the knife and leaned against the bench behind him. "I cannot believe this." I stood up and held my hand to Remus' arm.

"Of course it is," I whispered, nodding my head. "I'm so sorry, Remus. I'm just not sure what's happening at the moment. Everything has just been turned upside down." My father was a Death Eater, members of the Order, including Tonks, didn't trust me anymore and I didn't know whether the Wizarding World was going to remain as free as I had known it to be.

"He's gone," Remus said. "There is nothing we can possibly do." He turned back towards the bench, picked up the knife and went back to chopping the vegetables. I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped myself. This was the time to be silent and reflective.

* * *

"Thanks Remus," I said softly. "It looks very nice." I shot a forced smile and looked down at my plate. I played around with the food on my plate. It looked lovely, but I wasn't hungry. I felt guilty not eating what Remus had cooked for me, but ever since Father...did what he did...my appetite had turned off. My brain had turned off. Everything had turned off. I was running on empty. I looked back up at Remus and decided to make conversation. "What's Tonks' problem with me?" I asked Remus, hoping to have one of my issues solved. "She used to be my best friend, and now...it can't have anything to do with my father, honestly! I've been living with Andromeda, they would know by now if something was up."

"Ah," Remus sighed with a shake of his head. "Don't worry about her. Dora has a little issue with jealousy. Because we shared something first, that makes her jealous." That was something I had heard one thousand times. I was sick of hearing it. It was no excuse.

"That doesn't explain the way she reacted yesterday, that was unfair. I didn't go and tell Father to kill Dumbledore, did I? I have no idea why she would do something like that to me. I'm hurt, Remus. Best friend's are supposed to be there for each other during the tough times, and obviously she's not there for me." Tonks and I had our issues over the years, especially when it came to Remus, but in my time of need I always thought she'd be by my side. How mistaken I was.

"She obviously just had enough. She's been going on about it forever, Isabel. I think she is trying to get me to see you as the bad guy here."

"Would you - "

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I would never view you that way. You are my best friend and you will never be the bad guy." I laughed at him.

"That's a lie. There was a time where I was the baddest of the bad." I thought back to the time when I was with Sirius, and not Remus. I sighed, knowing that Tonks feels what Remus once felt. "She loves you, obviously, and wants to protect you. I can understand it. She's finally got you, and now she doesn't want to let go. I just want the old her back, though. The fun Tonks. Not the one who gets jealous whenever I'm in an inch of her man." Remus was smiling at me, and I didn't know why.

"What? What is it?"

"You. I'm really proud of the way you've dealt with finding out about Severus' true loyalty." Truthfully, I didn't even know how he could possibly say that. I thought I'd handled it terribly.

"My father has made the decision to betray us," I sighed. "I've been betrayed all my life by all sorts of people anyway so it's not like I'm not used to it and don't know how to handle it. And I know that I will be targeted, but that doesn't mean I can't move on with my life. I can't act like I acted with Sirius. I cannot mourn to the point where I lose who I am. Yes, I've lost Father, he intentionally betrayed us all and here we are. There was nothing I could have done, so it's time to move on and survive this war."

"I can see you've done that."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You and Fred are so very obviously comfortable with each other. I saw you two at the funeral today, holding hands, him putting his arm around you and holding you tightly when you began to cry, the way he protected you against the stares of certain people. You've been dating for six months, but already it feels like you've been together for years."

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you. It's like I'm talking to Andromeda or something."

"I am sussing out the situation. I don't want you to get hurt. Now answer the question."

"You know Fred won't hurt me," I said softly.

"I don't think he would." Remus smiled and picked up a piece of carrot with his fork. "Not intentionally," he added before sticking the fork in his mouth. I sighed and began to eat some of the food on my plate, but quickly became disinterested and pushed my plate away. Remus placed his fork down and picked up his wand. He pointed it towards the small radio, and moments later, a soft song was sounding through the room.

"This is a beautiful song. Care to dance?" He held his hand out and grinned at me. I smiled and took it. He put his hand on my waist and held me close to him. It took me back to Christmas of 1995, when we were in this exact position. It was like nothing had changed, which of course wasn't true. Absolutely everything had changed. We swayed to the music, laughing like teenagers. I could feel his warm breath on my neck, and his hand on my lower back. It brought back so many memories.

"Remus?" I whispered. He looked down at me, but did not stop dancing.

"Yes?"

"Do you still feel something? Between us?" I dreaded his answer, yet I still asked the question.

"Yes. I always will," he answered, swaying us slowly. He then stopped, and looked down at me. "Do you?"

"Yes...I always will." After a moment of stillness, and a moment of pure silence, we broke apart. I sighed and sat back onto the seat behind me. "Let me just have a drink, and then I'll be needing to get home." I picked up my wine glass that was sitting on the table. I had to shut this moment down. It wasn't right. We were in love with other people now. We've had our time.

* * *

Every member of the Order that was still alive was sitting around the table, except for Harry. They all chatted amongst themselves, except for me. I held Fred's hand as he talked to his twin, but I did not join in their conversation. What could I say to everyone? 'Sorry my Dad killed our best hope of defeating Voldemort'? That wasn't going to cut it at all. Tonks was glaring at me from the other end of the table. It was either her being in a terrible mood, or she had found out I had dinner with Remus last night. I decided to ignore her - we had more pressing issues at hand.

"What are we doing?" Someone called out.

"Yeah, do we hide? Do we fight?"

"It's pointless, Dumbledore's gone!"

"STOP!" Mad-Eye shouted. "How dare you. How dare all of you. You've simply thrown in the towel when it is far from over! Have faith in each other, and in Harry. Dumbledore would be turning in his grave right now!"

"He wouldn't be in a grave if it wasn't for Snape," Tonks spat, glaring at me.

"Watch it, Tonks," Fred snapped at her before placing his hand on my knee. He gave it a slight squeeze in an attempt to reassure me. It did not work. "Before anymore of you have a go at my girlfriend, maybe you'd like to think all the good she has done for the Order and perhaps think about how she is suffering right now. Her own father betrayed her. How many of you can say your fathers betrayed you?" The room became silent. I rested my head on Fred's shoulder. He did not have to defend me like this.

"Thank you, Fred," Mad-Eye said with a softer tone than usual. "If anyone else has a problem with Isabel, you can leave the room now. We have no room here for fighting in amongst each other. If you cannot handle the face she is loyal to the Order, there is no place for you in this organisation." I waited. I waited for someone to get up and leave. No one did...until Tonks rose from her seat. I looked up at her, and I was hurt. My best friend...my very own best friend.

"Tonks," I whispered, shaking my head. "I don't understand."

"I can't bring myself to do it like the rest of you are," Tonks announced to the group. "You look into her eyes and they are the exact same as her Father's. That's what she is on the inside. She is Severus Snape." Tonks walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her. I looked over to Remus, my eyes watering. He sighed and looked back at me, sympathy written all over his face. I had lost Father, my reputation, and now my best friend. What was I going to do?

* * *

**A/N: I am so sorry for taking so long to update! It seems my brain has simply switched off. I had huge writers block with this chapter! But now I'm back and here we go! 20 chapters left!  
**

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**Tumblr:  
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**Next chapter:**

"How does it feel to be the one getting married?" He turned around and sat down on my bed, patting the space next to him for me to sit.

"I'm nervous."

"That is understandable, it is your wedding day..."

"That isn't all I'm nervous about." He turned to me and sighed. "What am I doing? I can't get married to her."

"Remus, please don't do this. You've had so long to back out and you haven't!"

"You're all pressuring me to marry her! Every time I said no, you all snapped at me, telling me I'm simply making up excuses!" He kicked the side of my bed, then sat down, his head falling into his hands. I stood there, staring at my best friend. I had finally realised the truth, he was right. None of us had actually considered that what Remus had been saying to us wasn't just an excuse.

"Remus," I said, sitting down next to him. "Do you love Tonks?" He nodded. "Do you want to marry her?"

"I don't know."


	102. My Best Friends Wedding

**Thanks to: Potterhorse-Spirit, Me, Mel, xXChaosForeverXx, Robz Robby, I-HoPe-YoU-dAnCe1994, Me, Me, ebonbon, Me, HPFan, IcyRose66 and Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER for your reviews. **

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
In Front of You by the Quiet Kind  
Between by Courier **_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

I was still in disbelief at Father's actions. He had killed the man we had all relied on for years, and he had killed the man who had been the one person to place all his trust in him. Father had betrayed not only the Order, but his only family, me. Now, I had become the outcast. Even in the Order I noticed people started to treat me differently. They were definitely paying special attention to me. I guess they were scared I would turn around and kill one of them. I sighed, today wasn't the day to be reflecting on such treacherous times. I brushed Tonks' long, purple hair gently, smiling at her through the mirror. Who would have thought, to of my best friends were to be married? I was glad Remus had found Tonks. She gave him something I couldn't - unconditional love, and her whole heart. I did love Remus. I would always love Remus, but I could never give him my whole heart, and he deserved more than that.

"Are you excited?" I asked Tonks.

"I'm just happy," she replied, shrugging. "Who'd have thought I'd be so lucky?"

"Who'd have thought," I told her with a smile. Inside, I was dreading this day. It had been coming for a while now, but this was the day where I had to give Remus up. He wasn't mine anymore.

"I only wish Harry would be here. It would have meant the world to Remus for Harry to be here." She shrugged. "Oh well, I'm sure Harry will be happy when we see him next." Tonks hadn't stopped smiling the entire time. I had hardly seen her happy. It was strange to think a few days ago we were fighting, but the moment she became engaged was the moment she stopped being angry. I wasn't in the position to refuse her good mood. I needed my best friend.

"Alright, your hair is done," I said, running my hand along the simple braid I had made in her hair. Simplicity was the motto of this wedding, it seemed.

"It's wonderful!" She gasped, her face lighting up even more than it was before. "I love it!"

"You're welcome." I hugged my friend and smiled. "Now, I'll leave you to get yourself in your dress. Make sure you're ready on time! You don't want to leave the groom waiting." I left the room, then walked to the room at the other end of the hall, to my bedroom - the room in which Remus was in. I knocked on the door and entered the room quietly. Remus stood by himself, looking out the window into the field outside. His attitude was the complete opposite to Tonks'. She was bouncing up and down, like a child on Christmas morning. Remus, however, was quiet, perhaps a little timid.

"So, this is your bedroom?" He asked. Remus hadn't even turned around, how did he know it was me? Was he that used to me that he knew the sound of my footsteps? I stood next to him next to the window. The field outside had five chairs on each side, with an aisle down the middle. It was definitely an intimate, simple wedding. "This room is so matched to you, it's hilarious." It was strange, Remus did not seem as excited as Tonks was. Although, the bride is usually a little more excited than the groom.

"How does it feel to be the one getting married?" He turned around and sat down on my bed, patting the space next to him for me to sit.

"I'm nervous."

"That is understandable, it is your wedding day..."

"That isn't all I'm nervous about." He turned to me and sighed. "What am I doing? I can't get married to her."

"Remus, please don't do this. You've had so long to back out and you haven't!"

"You're all pressuring me to marry her! Every time I said no, you all snapped at me, telling me I'm simply making up excuses!" He kicked the side of my bed, then sat down, his head falling into his hands. I stood there, staring at my best friend. I had finally realised the truth, he was right. None of us had actually considered that what Remus had been saying to us wasn't just an excuse.

"Remus," I said, sitting down next to him. "Do you love Tonks?" He nodded. "Do you want to marry her?"

"I don't know. I don't know if what I feel is strong enough!"

"Do you truly see yourself wanting to be with her for the rest of your life?" I asked. He nodded in reply. I pursed my lips and sat next to him. "Then why is this so hard for you?"

"Because it's not just _her_." I ran my hand through my hair nervously. There was still the issue of us, and no matter how much we denied it, we still cared very deeply about each other. I was the one in the way of Tonks and Remus being happy together, and I was the person that would destroy all of Tonks' dreams.

"Remus," I sighed. "Look, you know how Tonks feels about you. She is head over heels, crazy for you. Now, I'm your best friend, and her best friend, and I want what's best for you both. A marriage that you're not committed to is not good for either of you. If you don't love her, or you aren't willing to give all your heart and soul to her, you can't be there when she begins her walk down the aisle. You can't marry her, then have her find out your heart isn't in it." I stood up and patted Remus on the shoulder. "You'll work out what to do." I left the room, nervous for both of them. This day could turn out to be a lovely, beautiful day...or a tragedy for Tonks.

* * *

I sat down in my seat in between Andromeda and Fred. I wasn't going to say a word about what Remus just said to me - I didn't want people to worry. If I told Andromeda that the man her daughter was going to marry wasn't one hundred percent sure, she'd have a heart attack. I took Fred's hand and stared straight ahead. I didn't know what to do or what to think.

"Are you alright, baby?" Fred asked, snapping me out of my trance.

"Oh, um, yes, I'm fine," I replied with a fake smile. He saw right through me, I could tell by the look in his eyes, however, he chose not to say anything. He didn't ask any more questions of me. I was grateful for him - Fred read me like a book.

"What glorious weather for a wedding!" Andromeda exclaimed, smiling up at the blue sky. Ted was laughing with Arthur, Molly was standing with Andie, admiring the weather, Fred was talking with Bill and Fleur, and there was I, sitting silently on my own. I felt bad for keeping the information I knew to myself, but it was necessary. Setting off panic in people would not be the best decision.

* * *

It was getting closer and closer to the time Tonks was due to walk down the aisle, and Remus was still a no show. Andie was becoming increasingly anxious, as was Molly. They knew this wasn't just a case of being 'fashionably late'. I wondered if I should be the one to say something. Should I be the one to say Remus is having second thoughts? No, I couldn't possibly - the situation I was in with Remus and Tonks was fragile. If I told Tonks that she would not be marrying Remus, she would probably hit me in the face and tell me it was my fault. I clasped my hands together and stared at the ground. I wasn't going to get involved in this.

"Isabel," Fred whispered. "Where's Remus?" I pretended to ignore my boyfriend, it would be easier doing that. "Isabel. Isabel, stop ignoring me. Isabel Snape, for Merlin's sake." He grabbed my arms and turned me to face him. "What's going on? Where is Remus? I know you know, I don't live under a rock."

"Please don't make me say anything," I whispered in return. My eyes pleaded with him, it would crush me to repeat the words Remus said to me.

"Isabel, if he is not going to show up, you need to tell someone! You can't put Tonks through this when you know something is - "

"Where is he?" Andromeda exclaimed, the colour from her face draining. "Does anyone know where Remus is? She's due to walk down the aisle any minute and he isn't - "

Right on cue - Tonks appeared from the front door. She walked down the steps in a simple, knee length white dress, her bright purple hair reaching her shoulders, a bouquet in her hands, Ted on her arm. She was beaming, her eyes were bright. That was until she caught sight of the end of the aisle. She stopped in her tracks and stared ahead of her. The bright sparkle in her eyes disappeared as she realised her husband-to-be was not there.

"Oh no," Andie whispered from next to me. She stood up and raced over to her daughter. I followed Andie almost instantly.

"Where is he?" Tonks whispered, trying to keep herself calm.

"He'll be here somewhere, Dora! I'll go find him!" Ted told his daughter, patting her hand.

"No, Dad, he's made it clear now! He doesn't want to marry me! All those times I thought he loved me, when he was simply settling." On the word 'settling', she looked up at me. Of course she would blame me for Remus not showing up. I wasn't the least bit surprised. "That's all I ever was to him. He couldn't have the true girl of his dreams so he settled for second best. He never loved me." She threw her bouquet of flowers to the ground. "What was I even thinking? I knew that he wouldn't go through with this! What is the point of marrying someone who will never love you with their whole heart? Tell me, Isabel." She looked to me. "Isabel, tell me, why do you think Remus isn't here?"

"Tonks..." I said cautiously. I held my hands up, signaling my surrender. I was not fighting her on this.

"Isabel Snape," Tonks said, raising her voice so everyone could here. "I want you to tell me why Remus Lupin isn't here. You're his best friend, after all. This is your best friend's wedding! You should know! Tell me, Isabel!" I shook my head at her. What was I going to say? "Tell me!" She yelled. When I didn't answer, she turned around to storm off, as if she had given up, but ran into the chest of Remus himself. She slammed her fist on his chest.

"If you didn't want to marry me, you should have just told me, you dick!"

"I'm sorry...I'm just being fashionably late," he told her, grinning down at her. He held out his hand towards her, and once she took it, the pair walked down the aisle towards the Ministry of Magic official standing at the front. What's a wedding without a little drama?

* * *

We sat at the table in the dining room. Remus and Tonks sat at the front, Tonks beaming whilst staring at her new husband. It felt weird to think like that...he was her husband. I sat towards the other end of the table. I thought avoiding Tonks would be a good idea seeing as she thought Remus wasn't going to turn up because of me. So I just sat with my boyfriend quietly, eating the food that was placed in front of me. This was Tonks' night, not mine.

"You're very quiet," Andie whispered into my ear. I turned around to see her standing behind me, looking down on me. It seemed she wasn't very impressed with my introverted behaviour.

"I thought it'd be for the best. Don't you?" I replied.

"They are your best friends, Isabel."

"Yes, but there is a history there, Andie." I sighed and looked over to Tonks. She was holding Remus' arm and laughing. I had never seen her so happy. I realised that I could not be here if I truly wanted Tonks to be one hundred percent sure that I could be trusted. I rose from my seat and kissed Andie's cheek. "I'm going up to bed. I'm sorry, Andie. You know that this is what she wants." I left the room without looking back at Remus or Tonks. As I began to walk up the stairs, I heard footsteps from behind me.

"Going to bed without me?" I turned around to see Fred, a grin on his face, his eyebrows raised. He walked towards me and scooped me up into his arms, causing me to giggle. "Why, I find that to be a crime." A small smiled appeared on my face, and I ran my hand through his bright red hair as he carried me into my room. He placed me down on the bed, then cuddled up next to me. If only Tonks saw this, then maybe she wouldn't be so suspicious of me.

"How are you feeling?" Fred asked.

"I'm fine," I told him, smiling up at him. I didn't want him to think I was saddened by what happened today. I didn't want him to think that I was upset because Remus was married to someone else. As cheesy as it sounded, Fred was my present and my future, and all my time, my devotion and my love would be given to him. I leaned my head on his chest and took his hand. "It's strange to think there was a wedding going on today, and there's a war going on around us at the same time."

"Why did you leave the wedding so early?"

"I think you know the answer to that one," I said softly.

"Because of you and him?" I placed my hand on Fred's cheek and stroked it gently.

"That's ancient history and you know it. Every moment I count myself very lucky to have you. I'd never jeopardize our relationship for something that would never work, even if we tried. You and I, Fred, we have something that nobody could ever have. It's very special to me - I would never turn my back on you and throw what we have away." I leaned up and kissed his lips as gently as I could. "I'll always love you." He put his arms around me and kissed my head.

"I'll always love you, Isabel. Forever."

"Forever."

* * *

**A/N: Cute little ending there between Fred and Isabel! And what is seemingly the end of Remus and Isabel. How does everyone feel about that?**

**I'm sorry for being like a turtle again and updating very slowly. I have a break off school coming up so I should be able to get everything out to you relatively quickly!**

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**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

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**Next Chapter:  
**"Do you not understand, Tonks? We're in a war!" I shouted. "You go out there, if you lose your focus for one second you're dead! They are not afraid to kill you. To destroy you! You need to keep your baby safe, and I would never be able to forgive myself if I was the one to stay, and you were the one to go, and you never came back." I sat down on a chair behind me and rested my chin on my hand. "I've already lost someone I loved dearly to the Death Eaters. I don't want to lose another. You're not going."


	103. Suicide Missions

**Thanks to: Potterhorse-Spirit, HPFan, xXChaosForeverXx, ebonbon, shadowkitten11, klara, Guest, Robz Robby, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER and dudulehianette for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [See Tumblr]  
I Turn My Camera On by Rock Kills Kid  
Human by Civil Twilight**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

It had been a couple of days since the wedding, and to my surprise, Remus had decided to move in with us, and keep his cottage for the place he went for full moons. Tonks was ecstatic to have her husband around, but it did get quite annoying watching her constantly throwing herself on him. Even though he had moved in, it didn't change anything between us. It wasn't like I had never lived with him before.

"My, this house is getting even more crowded by the second," Andie said, shaking her head whilst she made dinner. "All of this extra food, extra cleaning!" I grabbed Andie's shoulders and pulled her away from the bench.

"Andie, Remus is the only extra person in the house. I just think you need to breathe a little," I said. She nodded and smiled, sitting down at the table.

"You're right. Even the little things seem to be making a difference right now."

"I think the same can be said with everyone else's lives. Now, how about I go and get Tonks to help out and I can cook dinner with her, because you need a rest." I left Andie by herself and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Just as I was about to enter Tonks and Remus' room, I stopped. They were in the middle of a conversation that I was not going to inject myself into.

"Dora, the least you could do is tell our closest friend," Remus whispered to her. This was about me? What were they going to tell me?

"I don't want anyone to know, Remus! I wanted to keep this our secret!"

"She is my best friend, and she is yours. She needs to know! She could really help us, Tonks. Don't be stubborn."

"Yes, yes, I'm stubborn, but so is she!"

"You know," I said, opening the door. I walked into the room, and Tonks turned as pale as a ghost. "I can hear you both. You really need to learn how to whisper properly. Now, tell me, what's this all about? You're obviously debating on whether to tell me something or not, so just think about it for a moment...is it truly that important that you need to tell me when we are in the middle of a war? Will it have repercussions on any of us?"

"Just tell her, Dora. She'll be ecstatic to hear it," Remus said softly to Tonks.

"Fine. Here goes nothing...I'm pregnant." I stood still, trying to process what she had just said. She was pregnant? How...when...what? Tonks, in the middle of a war, was pregnant. I didn't know if it was an accident, or if she was just stupid.

"Wow...that was...quick..." I managed to get out. Not only was it quick, but it was completely shocking at the same time. I didn't expect them to ever have a baby, considering Remus' condition, and the fact that Tonks and Remus were almost always busy. And bringing a baby into the world at this time! I didn't know what to think of them right now. "Congratulations," I said to Tonks. She put her arms around me and hugged me tightly. It may have been a stupid decision for them to have a baby now, but I could tell Tonks was happy. Perhaps a baby might settle her down a little? "Er - Tonks, can you go and get started on dinner? Andie isn't cooking tonight and this might be great practice for the future."

"You're right," Tonks said, beaming and nodding eagerly. She practically ran out the door. Motherhood was going to change her, there was no doubt about it.

"So, Remus. A baby."

"Isabel, what if it's like me?" Remus asked, bursting into tears. He fell to his knees and shook his head. "What have I done?" I was confused - moments ago he looked so happy about the news they just delivered to me, and now he was on the floor, sobbing. I went to my knees and wrapped my arms around him. "What have I done to her?" I ran my hand through his hair and rocked him back and forth. I had never seen him act like this, not even when Sirius died. I was almost at the point of tears.

"Ssh, Remus. It'll be okay," I whispered, biting my lip to stop the tears that were building up in my eyes. "It'll be okay."

"I've ruined her whole life, Isabel, it's not okay."

"Remus, please, stop crying." I took hold of his hands and squeezed them tightly. "Stop crying. You can get through this, and I'll help you. We don't even know if it's going to be like you yet...and if it is, I'll make as much wolfsbane potion there is in the world for the baby. There's hope, Remus." He rested his head on my shoulder and continued to cry.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"Ssh, ssh," I said, stroking his hair. "Don't be sorry. Don't be sorry. Please don't be sorry." It seemed like time had stood still as I held Remus here in my arms. My heart was breaking for him. "Don't be sorry."

* * *

I walked into the kitchen to see Tonks happily peeling potatoes and placing them into the pot. I wasn't going to tell her what just happened with her husband, she was so happy. I didn't want to ruin that mood. I sat down at the table and took out my wand.

"How exciting, Tonks! A baby!" I said, wanting to hear what she really thought about this baby.

"I know! Isabel, I...wait a minute...it's your birthday coming up!" I sighed. I didn't care about my birthday at the moment, I just wanted to hear what she thought about her pregnancy! "Your twenty second birthday! I'll have to bake a cake and all! We can have a nice dinner here, Fred can come over, Bill and Fleur." I stood up and walked over to Tonks, placing my hand on her shoulder.

"Tonks, we can talk about my birthday later. Tell me. Tell me about the baby."

"Well, it wasn't planned or anything," she said, brushing my hand off of her shoulder. "But, I'm very, very happy. Who would have thought, me, a mother? I feel like I've been truly blessed, Isabel." Tonks placed a hand on her stomach and smiled. I was touched to see how accepting she was of this baby. It was clear she was ready for this, and she would love this baby, no matter what. The problem was, Remus was the complete opposite.

* * *

25 July. How it rolled around quickly. I woke from my sleep and stretched my arms. I rose from my bed and opened my curtains to see a miserable, rainy summers day.

"Happy Birthday, Isabel," I said to myself, looking out at the rain pouring down on the fields outside. I walked to the corner of my room and opened my wardrobe, picking out my normal combination of black jeans, a tight long sleeved shirt, my black jacket and my high heels. I quickly got dressed then began my descent down the stairs. Although I hated being the center of attention, I was bracing myself for it. It was my birthday after all. I walked into the kitchen, and there, waiting for me, was Fred, Ted, Andie, Remus, Tonks, Bill and Fleur.

"Happy Birthday!" They all shouted.

"Feeling any older, Isabel?" Ted laughed. As soon as he saw the fact that I was not amused, his laughter stopped. "I was just joking, sweetheart."

"I hate to cut the celebrations short, Isabel," Remus interrupted, "but I'm afraid we have an order meeting in a couple of hours."

"On my birthday, why am I not surprised," I said, rolling my eyes. I didn't care though, as long as the spotlight was off me.

* * *

Tonks, Remus, Fred, George, Bill, Fleur and I arrived at Moody's safe house and stared at each other, wondering what he could have summoned us here for. As we walked into a small room, we were greeted by Mad Eye, Kingsley, Hagrid, Molly, Ron, Hermione, Arthur and Mundungus Fletcher. The group were quiet and somewhat anxious, like they were anticipating a Death Eater to walk in the door at any second.

"Alastor, what is this all about?" George said.

"We need to move Harry Potter." We remained quiet. A few years ago, we'd all have no problems with moving Harry from one place to another, but now the war had become real, we were all very quiet. We all cared for Harry, one way or another, however, we weren't jumping out of our skins to get ourselves killed. Transporting Harry around safely was now nothing but a suicide mission. "As most of you know," Mad-Eye begun after the long silence, "Harry Potter is staying at Privet Drive with his Aunt and Uncle. We need to move him to a safe house, and our preference is the Burrow. Our issue with this is that he cannot use transport that is detected by the Ministry of Magic, as we believe they have been infiltrated by the Death Eaters. We will be needing to use brooms and thestrals as our main mode's of transport. Does anyone object to this?" Not one person in the room moved or said a word.

"The issue we face is the fact that we do not assume it's going to be smooth sailing once we're up in the sky," Mad-Eye told us. "The Death Eaters will most likely be up there, waiting for us, and waiting for Harry."

"Then what do you propose we do, Alastor?" Remus asked. "If we get up there, they'll kill us, one by one, until they reach Harry."

"Your optimism is inspiring, Remus," I told him. He glared at me, but I just shrugged. It wasn't going to be any use to us if anyone was pessimistic. That just meant nothing would get done.

"We are going to be very risky, but it just might pay off. Miss. Granger, would you like to take the floor?" I looked to Hermione. So she had come up with this risky plan. It didn't surprise me, she was always one for brilliant plans and logical thinking.

"This is a radical plan, however, I think it increases our chances of Harry staying safe. We'll use the polyjuice potion that I have stored, there will be Harry and six of us, posing as Harry. Therefore, the Death Eaters won't know who to go for. And as the Ministry can no longer be trusted, we should be using brooms and thestrals." The room was silent. It was indeed a radical plan. Any of us could be killed at any given minute. What if the Death Eaters just wanted to kill every Harry they saw? Would we end up with more casualties? "However we have uneven numbers. There are fifteen of you, including Harry. As we are traveling in pairs, one person will be sitting out this task."

"No, Mundungus, not you," Mad-Eye spat. Mungundus sat down, disappointed that he was not able to get out of this one. I knew that secretly, some in the room would be praying Mad-Eye to choose them to sit out, but I wasn't going to wait for him to choose someone. I was going to volunteer someone.

"Tonks," I said. "Tonks, you'll be sitting out." Everyone turned to me in surprise. "Yes, I know, who am I to force someone to stay behind? But, she's the one that's going to be sitting out."

"What!" Tonks snapped. "Who made you my mother, Isabel?"

"I said you aren't going, not with your current condition," I snapped back at her. I was trying to do her a favour, but all she was doing was throw it back in my face. That was Tonks, never appreciative. It was like she had this idea that if I did something good for her, it was an ulterior motive to win Remus back. She was definitely insecure.

"Current condition?" Hermione asked. "What's wrong with Tonks?"

"There is nothing wrong with me, I'm fine. Isabel is just overreacting," she told Hermione, brushing it off. I rolled my eyes at her, how could she treat a baby on the way as nothing? She was in no place to be going out and risking her life. She didn't just have herself to look after anymore, she had her husband and unborn baby.

"I have to agree with Isabel on this one," Remus said.

"You always agree with her," Tonks spat.

"Oh, don't make this about her, Dora. She has a valid point. We're simply looking out for you. I don't want you to do this, and she doesn't either. This is for your safety." Tonks rolled her eyes at her husband. Another reason for her to resent me. Fantastic. I knew she was still bitter about my past with Remus, but when was she going to give it up? I was no threat to her. I was very much in love with someone else.

"Would someone tell us what the bloody hell this is all about?" Ron demanded.

"Oh, I'm pregnant!" Tonks exclaimed. "Remus and I are expecting a baby." The whole room went silent with shock, much like how I reacted to the news.

"Congratulations," Hermione said quietly.

"Thank you, Hermione."

"I stand by what I said. I don't want you going, Tonks," I interrupted. I was going to force the issue until the rest of the Order agreed with me. Tonks no longer had a place in any battles. Her first priority was no longer protecting Harry and winning the war. Tonks needed to realise this.

"Why not? Give me a better reason than me being pregnant."

"Do you not understand, Tonks? We're in a war!" I shouted. "You go out there, if you lose your focus for one second you're dead! They are not afraid to kill you. To destroy you! You need to keep your baby safe, and I would never be able to forgive myself if I was the one to stay, and you were the one to go, and you never came back." I sat down on a chair behind me and rested my chin on my hand. "I've already lost someone I loved dearly to the Death Eaters. I don't want to lose another. You're not going."

"It's settled then," Mad-Eye said, looking over to Tonks and I. "Nymphadora, you'll be sitting out this one." I turned to my best friend and flashed a smile at her.

"You'll thank me the day the little one is born."

"You're ridiculous," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I could say the same for you, Nymphadora. But go on, I know calling me ridiculous isn't the only thing you want to say...but before you do, let me make it clear that I am sick of your attitude and behaviour towards me, simply because Remus and I are close. You have been a terrible best friend to me, and an even more terrible sister. I always relied on you for guidance and now I can't anymore because you're blinded by this hate, and I have no idea where it spouted from!" Tonks laughed and shook her head, as the rest of the Order could do nothing but watch on.

"No idea? Isabel, you and my husband used to be in love, and you cheated on the man you were engaged to! How am I supposed to trust you around him?"

"That is no reason to treat me like this!" I snapped. I was becoming increasingly upset by the second. All I wanted was my best friend back, but it felt like we were too far gone. Maybe Tonks did hate me? "Tonks, I love you. You're my sister. You know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you."

"I can't trust you around him..."

"You're going to have to," Remus said, putting his hand on his wife's shoulder. "I love you, Dora. And Isabel loves Fred. You two are the best of friends, and you've always been there for each other. I've never seen you two in a fight that you couldn't come out of. Isabel is the same Isabel we know, Dora." Tonks sighed, lowering her head. I wiped a tear that had fallen onto my cheek. It was awkward, knowing all the Order was watching on. What would they think of me after this?

"Isabel, like Remus said, we've never been in a fight we've never come out of. And I think I must apologise. I know it may seem like I'm just doing it to please my husband, but you know I don't like fighting with you. I love you, you're my sister, and though we may disagree, I can't help but forgive you again and again." I breathed a sigh of relief, walked over to Tonks and threw my arms around her.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, holding her tightly.

"I'm sorry," she replied, rocking us back and forth. She pushed me back and took hold of my waist. "And if you want, I'd like you to be the baby's godmother." A tear fell down my cheek as I nodded and threw my arms around her again. I had never felt so honoured in my life.

"Ladies," Mad-Eye interrupted. "Hate to break up this lovely display of affection, but we have to talk tactics."

* * *

**A/N: Closer and closer we get to the end of the story! You don't even understand how excited I am to share it with you! **

**I am also thinking about writing a much, much, MUCH, shorter sequel. It'll have a big twist to it - but I will only write it if you guys are interested. And spoiler alert! If I do write it, it will be for one of your favourite pairings of the story that doesn't really exist anymore...**

**I was really impressed with the number of reviews! Keep it up!**

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**Next Chapter:**

"Where's Fred?" I asked, turning around to Remus. "Is he inside?"

"Isabel, Fred isn't...he isn't back yet..." I felt the colour drain from my face. Everyone else had returned, except for Fred and Arthur.

"Remus," I breathed out, looking up at him. "Remus, why aren't they back?" He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in.


	104. Ron, Incendio, Bellatrix, The Burrow

**Thanks to: HPFan, 4u5513B4b3, Robz Roby, Potterhorse-Spirit, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, ebonbon and Ruvian for your reviews.**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Battle Theme [See Tumblr]  
Speak In Silence by Hannah Cartwright  
Northern Lights by Cider Sky**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

It felt surreal to be here, standing with my friends, ready to take to the skies. There were seven Harry Potters standing in front of me, and I was confused as to who was who. Fred had been one of those that had taken the polyjuice potion, which made me slightly more nervous as he would be a target for the Death Eaters. Harry, however, seemed in good spirits. We did not share a long greeting at the door, as we had to hurry things along, but he was looking well, and seemed quite well, which was remarkable considering the situation we were in. We moved outside and got into position. I walked over to Ron and patted him on the shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding.

"I won't take my eyes off you, I promise. I'll get you home safe."

"I trust you, Isabel." I patted Ron's back and went to sit on my broomstick. I breathed in and out slowly, gathering my thoughts. This was no time to be confused and unfocused. I would have to be on top of everything as soon as I flew up into the sky. Taking my eyes off of a Death Eater, or Ron, would have it's consequences, and right now, these consequences were life or death.

"Head for the Burrows. We rendezvous there. On the count of three."

"One...Two...THREE."

We took off into the skies, pair by pair. At first, things were calm. I stuck close to Ron's side. I was his protector. If anyone had to make sure he stayed alive, it was me. I held my wand in front of me as we flew further into the clouds. The calm of the night did not last long. As we got further into the clouds, we were greeted with what we were fearing - a Death Eater ambush. Everything happened so quickly, and before I knew it, curses were flying over my head.

"RON!" I screamed. "RON!" Ron flew right in front of me and blasted a Death Eater off their broomstick. "Let's go!" Ron and I flew towards the back of the pack. Bellatrix and another two Death Eaters followed us. I dodged the fatal curses they were shooting at me, but only just. I shot a curse over my shoulder and heard a yell. I turned to see one of the Death Eaters had fallen off their broom. But we weren't finished yet, we had Bellatrix and the other Death Eater to shake off.

"What do we do, Isabel? What do we do?" Ron screamed out, shooting curses to the two Death Eaters on our trail. I couldn't think of anything. No ingenious ideas came to my head. Bellatrix Lestrange was catching up to us quickly, so I needed to think of something smart.

"Avada - " Ron turned quickly and shot a spell at Bellatrix Lestrange. His curse hit her in the eye, stopping her in her tracks.

"That's it," I whispered. I took out my wand and pointed it at the Death Eater's broom. "Incendio!" The broom caught on fire, sending the Death Eater plummeting from the sky quickly. Ron and I flew away, realising all we had to do now was get rid of Bellatrix. We flew, zig-zagging between each other, up and down, doing anything we could to get her away from us. I looked over to Ron. He still looked just like Harry - he had none of his original features. We simply had to get rid of Bellatrix before the real Ron came back.

Ron and I shot curse after curse, hoping perhaps one of them would hit her. But all she did was cackle at our failures to get her.

"Ron, if it's two on one she can't win," I yelled at him. "We'll be able to match her. We can duel her.

"In the sky? You're mental!" I ignored his insult and stopped my broom, then turned around to face a surprised Bellatrix. Both of us stopping face her was probably the last thing she expected. I held out my wand, as did Ron, who sat by me on his broomstick. Bellatrix laughed and took out her wand.

"Avada Kedavara!"  
"Expelliarmus!"  
"Sectumsempra!"

Our three spells were shot at the same time. We managed to narrowly dodge Bellatrix's killing curse, but she was not so lucky. Ron had hit her, and she had suffered, but she did not give up. She shot curse after curse at us. I needed to finish this, or we would never get to the Burrow. I would never be able to get Ron back safely, according to plan. In a moment of sheer pressure, I flew away from Ron, to behind Bellatrix. It happened so quickly that she did not know where I had gone, and before she could turn around, I had shot my curse at her.

"Lacero! Sectumsempra!" The two curses hit Bellatrix, one on her left hand, the other on her right. Before she could react, I sped away from her, Ron behind me. We flew down from the clouds and continued our descent towards the Burrow.

* * *

Ron and I finally landed on the ground, falling to our knees once we were off our brooms. I breathed in and out rapidly, trying to catch my breath. Everything had happened so fast up there that now was the first time I had to think about what I should have done. I looked over to Ron, who was slowly losing the effects of the polyjuice potion. I simply nodded at him - there were no words to say after what we had just gone through. We both rose from the ground and began to make our way to the front door of the Burrow. As we got closer, we realised that Harry, Hermione, Kingsley, Bill, Fleur and Remus were all standing around, staring at each other in silence. When they noticed us, it was like all their eyes lit up at the same time. I ran towards my sister and threw my arms around her. She hugged me back just as fiercely. It was a moment that no one else could share - a moment between two special sisters.

"I'm so glad you're okay," I breathed out.

"Just a few scratches!" She said, with a small smile on her face. I knew she was in no happy mood, though. The things she must have seen up there would have been traumatising for her. I released my arms from around Fleur's waist, then ran over to Remus. I jumped in his arms and rested my chin on his shoulder. I had no words to say. I just held him. Having my best friend in my arms was more than words could say for me.

"You didn't get hurt, did you?" Remus asked down at me, stroking the back of my head. I shook my head slowly.

"No, I don't think so. I'm just a bit shocked, is all." It was then that I realised Fred was not here. In the heat of the moment, I had forgotten my own boyfriend. "Where's Fred?" I asked, turning around to Remus. "Is he inside?"

"Isabel, Fred isn't...he isn't back yet..." I felt the colour drain from my face. Everyone else had returned, except for Fred and Arthur. I stepped back from Remus and shook my head. I hadn't even comprehended this to happen. I simply thought Fred would be okay with his Father, they were both experienced enough to come out of it unscathed.

"Remus," I breathed out, looking up at him. It felt for a moment that I was in a room without any air - I was suffocating without knowing he was okay. Where was my Fred? What if something had happened? "Remus, why aren't they back?" He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon, Isabel. Breathe." True to Remus' word, moments later, there was one more loud crack, and Arthur and Fred appeared. I sprinted towards Fred and threw my arms around him. Never had I been more relieved to be in his arms. The last time I had entered a battle I had lost someone I loved very much. I was not prepared to do that again. Fred tilted my chin up and kissed my lips softly, before I pulled back and stared at him, my eyes full of relief that he was still alive.

"I thought for a moment...I...I thought, perhaps...maybe you were..."

"Ssh." Fred held me close and rocked me back and forth. "Don't think like that. I'm here, right now. I'm okay."

"Fred! Come quickly!" Arthur yelled from the doorway, interrupting our embrace. His voice was urgent, even desperate. I had never heard Arthur sound the way he did, usually he was so calm. Fred gripped my hand and ran inside with me. We ran in the door and walked over to the lounge slowly. To our shock, lying there, blood covering half of his face, was George. I clapped my hand to my mouth, in complete and utter shock that this had happened to George. Fred knelt next to his twin brother, comforting him. Molly, on the other side, was stroking George's hair.

"Who did this?" Arthur asked, looking around at the rest of the Order.

"Snape," Remus replied, his tone full of disdain for my father. Hadn't he done enough to us? To me? Why couldn't he just leave us alone? I turned to look at George's ear when something came over me. I gasped as I realised what had happened. I knew the exact spell Father would have used to sever George's ear.

"Move, Fred," I said as I rushed to George's side and tried to push Fred to the side. I could save George's ear, if I was lucky enough.

"What? What is it?"

"Just move, Fred!" I shouted. Fred moved out of the way slowly and stared at me like I was a maniac. I put my wand to George's ear, and realised almost immediately that I had no chance of saving his ear. Father had cursed him so badly that there was nearly nothing left. The only thing I would be able to do was stop the blood from pouring out. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath in.

"Vulnera Sanentur," I said, running my wand along the wound. The blood started to disappear almost immediately, but the real damage started to show. I shook my head, trying not to get distracted by the gruesome sight in front of me.

"Vulnera Sanentur," I repeated, running my wand along a different part of his ear. As more and more blood cleared away, I saw the extent of George's injury. His outer ear was completely lost.

"Vulenra Sanentur," I said one last time, cleansing where George's ear was gone. Most of the blood had stopped, and the other blood had been washed away.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered to George. I ran my hand along the spot where his ear used to be. "Does that hurt?" George shook his head. Thankfully the pain had gone, but I felt guilty. Maybe if I was quicker, maybe if I had known earlier, I could have saved his ear. "I can't bring your ear back. The wound is too great."

"You did what you could. Thank you, Isabel," George whispered in return, even managing to crack a smile. I wiped the blood off of my hands onto a towel Molly had given me, and got up from the floor.

"How did you do that?" Arthur asked me, looking down at my blood, covered wand curiously. I took the towel and quickly wiped the rest of George's blood off of my wand.

"That's the healing spell for Sectumsempra," I told him. Arthur seemed completely dumbfounded - he was obviously unaware of what Sectumsempra was. "Sectumsempra was one of my father's spells. I learned the spell and the healing spell at the same time and always remembered it. Father passed a lot more onto me than my hair. He has all sorts of dark spells that he created and passed on to me."

"Why would he pass on his secret spells to you if he is on side with the Death Eaters?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," I replied, shrugging. "Perhaps he wanted me to join alongside him one day."

"Is there no way of healing his ear?" Molly enquired, interrupting my conversation with Ron.

"I'm afraid not. If I was with him maybe a minute after it happened I could have healed it, but the damage is far too great to get his ear back. I have never seen a Sectumsempra curse so powerful. George was lucky it was only his ear. I'm afraid that if it was anywhere from his neck down to his knees, he would have lost a limb or even died. I'm sorry, Molly. I wish I could have done more."

"Don't be sorry. You stopped the bleeding. I'm thankful for that."

"Mad Eye's dead," Bill said. I looked over my shoulder at Bill. We had almost gotten through unscathed...and now this. Mad-Eye, one of the Order's two leaders left, was dead. I fell to my knees and shook my head. This wasn't how any of this was supposed to play out. "Mundungus...took one look at Voldemort then just disapparated." And they were all worried about me not staying loyal and true to the Order. I looked up at everyone. Remus slammed his hand on the table behind him and a tear dropped onto his cheek. I looked to Harry, who had gone pale. I wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault. I wanted to tell him he was not the cause of any of this.

"Everyone is dismissed for the evening, we need not have a meeting. Harry, well...

* * *

It was very late at night. The house was quiet, except for the few creaks here and there. Things were calm, for the first time in a long time. I was leaning on my boyfriends chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat and his breath. Fred stroked my hair slowly, holding my hand tightly. I know he had been shaken up by what had happened to George. His twin had lost his ear in a very close call - but I losing an ear was better than losing your life.

"Fred," I whispered.

"Hmm?" He asked. I snuggled in tighter to him and shut my eyes.

"What are we going to do?" I opened my eyes and looked up at him. "About the war? What are we going to do? Are we going to hide and hope it goes away, only fight when needed? Where will we live? Will we stay with your family?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "I haven't thought about it."

"I think we should," I told him. "And I also think you and George should stay together. Wherever he goes, we go with him. Wherever we go, he comes with us." Fred smiled down at me and kissed my head. I knew he appreciated that I cared about his relationship with his brother, and I knew that his brother was as important in his life as I was.

"I love you," he whispered. "So much." He kissed my head repeatedly, to the point where I could do nothing but giggle.

"I love you too," I said softly, placing a hand on his cheek. "And no battle, no war, and no Death Eater, could ever keep me from you."

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, I went with the movie's events of things rather than the books. For this part of the story, it is much simpler to use to the movie's events. And I know, short chapter, but trust me, the good stuff is coming - and when I mean good stuff, I mean GOOD stuff. Speaking of, I only have 11 more chapters to complete, and then they are all written so I can get them out to you ASAP! I'm so excited to show you the ending!  
**

**Reviewsssss! Don't forget, guys! What happened? We were going so well!**

**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

"Sirius is dead," I said softly. Mother's face went pale.

"Excuse me?"

"He's been dead for over a year now, Mother. He died at the hands of a Death Eater during a Battle. He died right in front of my eyes."

"I-I-I..." Mother couldn't get the words she wanted to say out. I couldn't blame her, it wasn't the news she was seemingly expecting. "I'm sorry, darling, I did not know. Fleur and Gabrielle had not mentioned it to me. If I had known, I would have come straight away to support you in your terrible time of need. At least you had your father." I laughed and shook my head. It was just one thing after another at the moment. "Isabel, what is so funny about Severus supporting you after the death of a loved one?"

"He's a Death Eater, Mother. He betrayed us." After a few moments of stillness and silence, Mother put her hand to her forehead.

"Oh, Isabel. Oh dear."

* * *

"Your father would be most displeased with the way you are acting, Miss. Snape," the Death Eater said to me.

"Everything displeases my father," I snapped.

"Associating with these filthy blood traitors," the Death Eater continued, ignoring my reply. "You know, you can always apparate away with me, right now. I'm sure the Dark Lord would be elated to finally meet the famous Isabel Snape. He has spoken of you more than once with Severus. Oh, and of course, Lucius would be overjoyed to see you again. Why, most of the male Death Eaters would be pleased if you were to join us. What do you say, Miss. Snape? Care to join me?"


	105. Wedding at the Burrow

**Thanks to: Potterhorse-Spirit, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, TheDiva121, HPFan, IcyRose66, LaFlorine, ebonbon, CookieSpells4 and Robz Robby for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Sister's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Love Will Take You by Angus and Julia Stone  
Without You by Lana Del Rey  
Prospekt's March/Poppyfields by Coldplay**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

After the events of the Battle and the war so far, we were finally in a position where we could laugh and smile. It was two days before the wedding of my sister, and one of my closest friends. Everything was completely hectic, yet I was enjoying it. I didn't have to worry about the next Death Eater I would come up against, or what Father was doing...all I had to worry about was looking good in my bridesmaids dress! I stood in the kitchen and scrubbed the dishes in front of me. I missed this simple life, when there were no cares in the world except for family events.

"Hello there," a familiar voice said whilst two arms slithered around my waist.

"Hello, my dearest darling Fred," I whispered, turning around and pressing my lips to my boyfriends. I kissed him quickly a few more times before turning back around to do the dishes. "How are you, darling? Did you just wake up?"

"I was up out of bed before you, thank you," he scoffed. "Mum dragged me outside to help set up. I tell you, that woman changes whenever weddings are on."

"She just wants it to be perfect," I told him. Men didn't understand, weddings needed to be perfect for women. It was the one day most important to us. If one thing was not the way we wanted it to be, everything would be ruined.

"Well, you know the worst thing about this wedding is?" He asked, taking hold of my hand and pulling me away from the sink.

"What is it?" He pulled me in close to him and slipped his arms around my waist again.

"We hardly get any alone time," he whispered before placing his lips on mine. He moved me back against the bench, the kiss becoming more heated by the second. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Fred and I stopped, mid-kiss and laughed. He was right, there was no alone time, and I truly did miss the alone time. We reluctantly went to open the door. Whoever it was would pay for interrupting Fred and I. Fred reached out for the doorknob, then opened the door slowly. I froze when I saw who was behind it. Mother, Gabrielle...and my pig of a stepfather, Louis.

"Isabel!" Gabrielle jumped into my arms and kissed me on the cheek. "Isabel, I've missed you!" I hugged her back tightly, but I couldn't stop staring at Mother and Louis. They were holding each others hands. They even looked happy! After all he had done to her, she was still happy to hold his hand and pretend they were the perfect couple! "Fred!" Gabrielle jumped out of my arms and into Fred's! He laughed and embraced her as eagerly as she embraced him.

"C'mon, Gabrielle, lets go find George. He'll be so excited to see you." Fred held my younger sisters hand and led her out of the room, leaving me with my Mother and the man I hated the most, perhaps even more than my back-stabbing Father.

"Mother," I said, moving over to her hesitantly and kissing her cheek.

"Who was that boy you were just with? Where is Sirius? I must admit, I am quite excited to see him. When are you getting married? He told me he was going to propose to you the night of that day we had lunch!" I felt my knees go weak at her words. I held onto the chair next to me, closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. She didn't know, and I had to tell her. Hearing people say his name never got any easier for me. "Isabel, what is the matter?" Mother asked, moving towards me, placing her hand on my back. "Do you need any help?" I shook my head and turned to face her.

"Sirius is dead," I said softly. Mother's face went pale.

"Excuse me?"

"He's been dead for over a year now, Mother. He died at the hands of a Death Eater during a Battle. He died right in front of my eyes."

"I-I-I..." Mother couldn't get the words she wanted to say out. I couldn't blame her, it wasn't the news she was seemingly expecting. "I'm sorry, darling, I did not know. Fleur and Gabrielle had not mentioned it to me. If I had known, I would have come straight away to support you in your terrible time of need. At least you had your father." I laughed and shook my head. It was just one thing after another at the moment. "Isabel, what is so funny about Severus supporting you after the death of a loved one?"

"He's a Death Eater, Mother. He betrayed us." After a few moments of stillness and silence, Mother put her hand to her forehead.

"Oh, Isabel. Oh dear." I did nothing but nod at her. It was a lot of information to take in, but she wasn't here. She had not been here to support me during my time of need, so I figured I'd just tell her as it was and move on. "So that other boy was your - "

"Boyfriend." I then realised that piece of garbage was still standing beside her. It was harder to ignore her than I initially thought. "Mother, what is he doing here?" I glared at Louis, who had slid his arm around my Mother's waist.

"I am Fleur's father! You do not expect me to sit at home whilst my daughter walks down the aisle? Hah, surely not." He walked past me, and as he did so, he brushed his hand against my cheek. "Now, I'd say we'll definitely be enjoying each other's company." I put my arm under his neck, grabbed out my wand, and slammed him against the wall. I held my wand to his cheek, and if he reacted, I would not be afraid to use it.

"Isabel! Get off him!"

"You're in my house now," I spat at Louis, who was breathing heavily as he stared at me. "If you ever put your hands on me again, I will blast you to pieces. Have we understood each other? Lovely." I lowered my wand from his cheek and smiled. "Now that the family reunion is out of the way..."

"Aunt Apolline!" Someone shouted from the door. I looked over to see two incredibly beautiful girls. Obviously, they were relations of Mother's, which meant, relations of me.

"Oh, Aunt Apolline, zis place eez a nightmare!" They wiped the dirt and grass off the end of their heels and walked inside.

"Our bags are outside, where do ve put zem?"

"You bring them inside yourself," I told them. They both turned to me in surprise.

"And who are you?"

"Girls," Mother said, approaching me. "This is my daughter, Isabel Snape." They stared at Mother, their eyes wide.

"Zis is her?" One of them said. "She eez so plain!" My mouth hung open at her words. Not in my twenty-two years had I ever been called plain. In amongst all the awkwardness and tension, came my boyfriend. He walked up to my side and looked towards the girls. He seemed as confused as I first was to who they were.

"Excuse me, kind sir," one of the girls said, blushing. I rolled my eyes as they turned on their veela charms. "Our bags, zey are sitting outside. Would you bring zem een for us?"

"No, he won't," I snapped, "and stop battering your eyelids at him, he's my boyfriend and you two won't be getting anywhere near him. Now I hate to break up the family reunion, but if I stand with you people anymore I might be physically sick. I walked away from my so called family with Fred. I didn't want him to get to know them - it was better off just dismissing them whenever they were around. They weren't worth my time, or his time.

* * *

The long table was filled with people, and I knew almost instantly that I would have to tread very carefully. On one side of the table, Molly, Arthur, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, myself, Fred, George, Harry, Ron and Hermione sat. The other was Mother, Louis, Gabrielle, and a long line of Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. The food was the only thing separating one side of the table from the other. I held Fred's hand under the table, trying to keep myself calm around my infuriating biological family.

"What a lovely spread you have put out," Mother told Molly with a smile.

"Your English is almost perfect, Apolline, it is quite surprising!" Molly told her. Whilst the two women bonded with each other, people ate and talked amongst themselves. I didn't want to be here. Mother and Gabrielle were the only people on the other side of the table that I actually cared about. The others were shallow and superficial, only caring about their veela looks, and what dress they were going to be wearing to the wedding ceremony.

"Are you okay?" Fred whispered in my ear.

"Does it look like it?"

"What are you two whispering about?" Mother called from the other end of the table. I looked over to her, confirmation that she was talking about Fred and I. Fred cleared his throat and smiled at my Mother, a grin on his face.

"I was just saying to Isabel that when we get married, I won't be bothering with any of this nonsense. You can all wear what you like, and I'll put a Full-Body-Bind curse on Mum until it's all over," Fred said.

"Excuse me?" I said, my eyebrows raised. I hit him on the arm, then looked back over to Mother, who looked like she had just had a heart attack. "He was only joking, Mother. That is something you'll need to get used to about him, he enjoys a joke."

"I can see that," Mother said, picking up her wine glass. "How old are you, Mr. Weasley?"

"Nineteen," He told Mother, the colour draining from his face. I didn't want her to interrogate him, but I didn't want to interrupt either, because then she'd do it privately. At least she'd go easy on him here.

"And how long have you been dating my daughter?"

"Seven months, Madame Delacour. Since just before Christmas." He was even addressing her using a formal title - I was impressed. I knew what Mother was doing though, she was going to play around with him to find out if he lived up to Sirius. She would have done the same thing with Bill the first time she met him.

"What do you think of Isabel? What has drawn you to her?"

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't first drawn to her for the way she looked. I've always found Isabel to be an exceptionally beautiful woman, but then I got to know her. Madame Delacour, your daughter is the one you always wait for, and the one you think will never come, but when they do you know that you cannot let them go." He put his arm around me and kissed my cheek gently. "Madame Delacour, I love your daughter, she is the light that brightens up the world I live in." The whole table was silent as they took in Fred's declaration of love for me. I turned to him as a tear fell down my cheek and kissed him, more gentle than I ever had before. After a short, sweet kiss, I pulled back, tears running down my cheeks.

"I love you so much," I told him.

"Mr. Weasley," Mother called out. We both turned to look at her at the same time, to see tears running down her cheeks as well. "That was incredibly sweet, and I only wish you and my daughter all the happiness in the world in your - "

We were interrupted by the loud blowing of a nose across from Mother. Molly, who was holding a very damn handkerchief, was in tears.

"Fred, darling, I'm so proud of you! There is so much love around - Bill and Fleur, Fred and Isabel, Ron and Hermione - "

"Mum, Hermione and I, we're not..." Ron began before his Mother cut him off.

"It just makes me so happy to see us all so joyful in such a difficult time." Molly raised her glass of wine, prompting the rest of us to do the same. "Here's to love, and the joy it brings to our lives everyday. To love!"

"To love!" Everyone repeated.

"To love," I whispered to Fred, smiling at him, kissing him quickly.

* * *

An important day had come in the Burrow. Harry was turning seventeen. It had been a struggle for him to come of age, but finally, the day was here. It was even more important, for security reasons, as now he was no longer being tracked by the Ministry of Magic. Molly had organised a little get together for Harry, and now, here we all were, standing around a brilliantly decorated room, all talking amongst ourselves. Even Hagrid had joined us for the celebrations!

"Fantastic evening, is it not?" I looked up to see Remus, making his way over to me. "Some people may have even doubted he'd make it here."

"I'm so proud of him and the way he's handled all of this. He's been through more than any of us can even think of and he's still such an amazing person." I put my hand on Remus' shoulder and smiled. "How are you feeling?" I thought back to the other day when Remus was crying in my arms over his wife's pregnancy.

"I'm still very angry with myself," he sighed. "What I've done was wrong. I shouldn't have even married her, Isabel. I've made her an outcast."

"But she is willing to be an outcast, is she not? Remus, she loves you and doesn't care if this baby is a werewolf or not. We're all willing to support you." I smiled once again at him. This was a joyous time for everyone, Remus had to realise this baby was a gift, not a burden. "Just think about it, hey? And you know where I am if you need me." I left Remus on his own to think about the baby and spotted Harry across the room. He was alone for the first time of the evening - a perfect opportunity to get to speak to him.

"Hey Harry!" I called out. He looked over to me, and I signaled for him to meet me outside. I walked out the door of the Burrow and stood under the stars. Soon enough, I was joined by the birthday boy.

"Happy Birthday," I told him.

"Thank you, Isabel." I looked up at the stars and smiled, knowing one special person would be beaming down on us.

"I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you, Harry. I've seen you go through things that no one should ever have to go through, and you just manage it like it's natural." I looked up to the stars and smiled. "He'd be so proud of you, Harry. You meant so much to Sirius, I don't think you could even begin to imagine how important you were to him." I fiddled around in my pockets to find the gift I was going to give to Harry. "I, er, struggled. I didn't know what to get you, seeing as it's your important seventeenth and all." I passed him a folded up photo and smiled. "I found it when I was packing up to move out of Grimmauld Place. I know Sirius would have wanted you to have it." Harry opened the photo and stared down at a young Sirius and a young James Potter.

"Thank you Isabel," he whispered, not taking his eyes off the photo.

"Happy Birthday Harry."

* * *

The wedding day was here. After months of running around and planning, it was here. Fleur was getting married. I was excited for her, because I knew that she had been waiting so long for this day. I knew how in love she was with Bill - the way she looked at him was evidence alone. And as if that wasn't enough, when Bill was attacked by Greyback, she still stood by him.

"Good morning!" I shouted, opening the doors to Fleur and Ginny's room. I opened the curtains so the light would shine in on the two sleepyheads. Hermione, behind me, was giggling. Fleur groaned and pulled the covers over her face, but I would be having none of that. Not on her wedding day! I marched up to her bed and pulled the covers away, then shook her shoulders to help speed up the process. "Wakey, wakey, future Mrs. Weasley! It's your wedding day!" Fleur shot up at the word 'wedding'.

"If that was all it took you, I'd say we'd need to say that word every day," Hermione laughed.

"Oh my, eet eez my wedding day! 'Ow exciting!" She jumped out of bed, then squealed. She was acting like a child on Christmas morning. "Oh my gosh! I cannot believe eet! Eet 'as come so quickly! What do I do first? The dress, oh no! The 'air! Or the make up? Oh, I cannot choose!" I laughed and sat her back down.

"That's what we are here for. Gabrielle!" Gabrielle waltzed into the room, a huge make up case in her arms. "I'll do make up, Gabrielle, Hermione, and when she wakes up, Ginny, will do your hair. Oh, Fleur!" I threw my arms around my sister and kissed her cheek. "I am so excited for you, you have no idea!" I placed the make up case on the dressing table, then took out my wand.

"Ginny, come on, get up!" I shouted. When she refused to budge, I pointed my wand over at her. "Rictusempra." Moments later, the room was filled with Ginny's laughter.

"Please...Isabel...please," She laughed, rolling around the floor, holding her stomach. "Okay...I'm awake!" I lowered my wand and smiled.

"Fantastic. Come along, time to get to work!"

* * *

"You look incredible," I said, wiping a tear as my sister twirled around in her wedding dress. "Absolutely stunning!"

"Ah, do not cry! You will ruin your make up!" I laughed at Fleur's words, but she was right. I wiped the tears away and took her hand.

"I am so proud of you." We became silent as music began to ring from the marquee. It was our cue to move! Gabrielle turned towards the entrance of the marquee first, and began her walk. Ginny was second, leaving a few moments after Gabrielle. I quickly kissed Fleur's cheek once more before turning towards the entrance of the marquee. I reached the purple carpet in the marquee, marveling at the work that had been done to make it as beautiful as it was. Golden chairs sat either side of the carpet White and gold flowers had been placed everywhere, and so were golden balloons. It was a beautiful, colourful sight. At the other end of the carpet was my soon-to-be brother-in-law, and one of my closest, oldest friends, Bill. He looked incredibly nervous, the most nervous I had ever seen him. As I reached the end of the aisle, I stood next to Ginny and looked back to the entrance. Fleur had stepped inside, looking the most gorgeous I had ever seen her. The simplicity of her dress complimented her unlike anything else. I looked over at Bill, who had tears in his eyes as he stared at his beautiful bride. They were simply meant to be. Once Fleur had reached the end of the aisle, I took my seat in between Charlie and Fred, settling myself in for the ceremony.

* * *

"Do you, William Weasley, take Fleur Delacour to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The Minister asked.

"I do," he said, a huge smile on his face, slipping the ring onto Fleur's finger. He had not taken his eyes off of his bride for the whole ceremony.

"And do you, Fleur Delacour, take William Weasley, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," she said, slipping the ring onto Bill's finger. The Minister of the ceremony raised his wand and waved it over Bill and Fleur's head, stars falling upon their entwined fingers.

"Then I declare you bonded for life!" Fred and I both rose at the same time and started the applause as Fleur and Bill kissed in front of the crowd. I wiped a tear as I watched my little sister kissing her husband for the first time as Mrs. William Weasley.

* * *

The music was loud, the food was endless and the company was even better. The reception was unlike anything I had ever seen in my entire life. It seemed as if the whole wizarding community (the decent part of it) was attending this wedding. So far, I had danced with Fred, Arthur, George, Charlie, Remus and the groom himself. Bill hadn't stopped smiling since he saw Fleur walk down the aisle. His love for her was so incredibly special. It was a privilege to witness it.

"Isabel, my supposed daughter." I looked up to see Louis had sat next to me. What a way to ruin my happy mood. I had been trying to avoid him since he had arrived, but I knew it would be near impossible. Louis was obviously wanting to take advantage of the fact that I was alone for the first time this evening. I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed my drink off the table. I would need it if I was going to deal with this.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

"Now, now. This is a celebration. No need to cause a scene here. Especially amongst so many people that respect you. Oh, no, wait, I did my digging before I got here. Let's have a look shall we?" He pointed to Fred. "That is your boyfriend, the brother of Fleur's new husband. Nice choice, my dear. He looks like a nice man." He pointed to Tonks. "Your best friend." Then he pointed to Remus, standing next to her. "Your other best friend...that you were in love with...or are still in love with. Apparently it's hard to tell, it seems to change from week to week."

"You're a bastard," I spat at him. "Just leave."

"Language, Isabel."

"What makes you think that I will follow your every command? You might have everyone else here at this wedding fooled, thinking you're a nice, respectable family man, but I will never forget what you did to my mother, and I will never forgive you for what you did to me."

"Oh, Isabel, can we just move past this and act like family? From what I hear you're in need of a father after what yours did to you." I slammed my drink down on the table.

"Well, the problem with that, is that I hate you, just like I hate my own father."

"I'm not that sure you do hate me. Isabel, darling, I have heard that you get around quite a bit with a few different men. Trust me, I'd make it worth your while." I almost threw up at his words. I rose from my seat instantly and stood over him.

"You're pathetic, and disgusting. Stay right away from me or I will curse you into next year." I stormed off from the table. How was that the man I used to think was my father? Even my real father would be a better alternative than him at the moment, and he's a Death Eater.

* * *

Fred and I stood in the very centre of the dance floor, swaying slowly to the music. My head was on his chest, my eyes were closed. It was perhaps the most perfect moment. The whole world drifted away, it was just Fred and I, swaying to the soft music. That was until were were interrupted by a very loud woman.

"Fred Weasley!" My eyes opened instantly to see Fred's Aunt Muriel approaching us. I glared up at him, blaming him for our moment being cut short.

"Yes, Aunt Muriel?" Fred asked.

"Come along, and bring her with you. We need to have a little talk, young man!" She practically pulled Fred and I off the dance floor and sat us down at the back table for what seemed like an interrogation.

"Fred, who is this?"

"My girlfriend, Aunt Muriel. Isabel - "

"Isabel Snape," she said. She moved around the chair, taking me in with her bloodshot eyes. "You are dating the daughter of a Death Eater...why would you take the risk? She does not seem to be anything special." I raised my eyebrows at Muriel's bluntness.

"Aunt Muriel, if you - "

"Fred, she is not - " Before Muriel could go on, I stood up and pushed past her. Fred followed once he realised what was now sitting in the middle of the dance floor...Kingsley Shacklebolt's patronus. I took Fred's hand and gripped it rightly, bracing myself for what the patronus would say.

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming." I looked towards Fred, my eyes wide. The Ministry had fallen...the Death Eaters had taken control. Hogwarts...the Ministry..the Death Eaters had taken over the Wizarding World, and there was nothing we could do about it. Suddenly, Death Eaters began to apparate into the Burrow. I took out my wand quickly and held it in front of me.

"Fred!" I screamed. I attempted to run over to him, but was blocked by a Death Eater. I shot a curse at him, only to be blocked by another one.

"Your father would be most displeased with the way you are acting, Miss. Snape," the Death Eater said to me.

"Everything displeases my father," I snapped.

"Associating with these filthy blood traitors," the Death Eater continued, ignoring my reply. "You know, you can always apparate away with me, right now. I'm sure the Dark Lord would be elated to finally meet the famous Isabel Snape. He has spoken of you more than once with Severus. Oh, and of course, Lucius would be overjoyed to see you again. Why, most of the male Death Eaters would be pleased if you were to join us. What do you say, Miss. Snape? Care to join me?"

"You can tell You Know Who that he can shove his wand up his own arse and cast the killing curse while it's up there," I hissed. "Petrificus Totalus!" The Death Eater was hit by my curse, and froze. However, our fighting was no use. The numbers of the Death Eaters rose, and we were no match for them. Eventually, we were all defeated, and the interrogation began. We no longer held any power.

* * *

**A/N: Closer and closer we get! That was a long chapter, just for you guys! Trust me guys, you are going to flip over what happens next chapter!**

Reviewssssss! I love them so keep them coming. I'm going to try and update twice a week if the review numbers are good.

I definitely have a sequel in mind for this story, so if you guys want it, I'll write it!  


**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter:  
**"Isabel Snape." I looked up through my hair to see the person that familiar voice belonged to. Greyback. "I am surprised to see you around here...considering it's so..." Greyback moved towards me and placed his lips on my neck. I breathed in slowly, attempting to keep myself calm. Having a panic attack was not going to help me in this situation. "Dangerous," he breathed out, removing his lips from my neck.

"What are we doing with this one boss? Ministry?" One of the snatchers asked Greyback.

"It'd be pointless taking her to the Ministry considering we know she's a Pureblood." Wrong. "However, I do think she's too important to just, let go. So I have the perfect place for her." He held out his hand towards me. "Come on, my love. I'm taking you to see your Daddy."


	106. Headmaster Snape

**Thanks to: HPFan, hotwingincident, Robz Robby, ebonbon, WizardChaser3163, Potterhorse-Spirit, IcyRose66, Guest, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER and CookieSpells4 for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Andromeda's Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [See Tumblr]  
Moving to Mars by Coldplay  
Cut by Plumb  
On Call by Kings of Leon**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

After being interrogated for hours by Death Eaters, it was decided by Arthur and Molly that Fred, George and I were to leave. We couldn't stay at the Burrow anymore, not with the Death Eaters in control. It wasn't safe anymore. We had arranged to move in with Bill and Fleur at their new house, the Shell Cottage. I didn't want to leave Arthur, Molly, or Ted and Andromeda on their own, but they insisted that Fred, George and I keep safe. I couldn't deny myself safety. So, after we made the decision, Fred and I went back to my house to gather my things. We apparated to the road in front of the house, but I instantly noticed something was wrong. The windows had been broken, and the front door was wide open. I sprinted into the house, my wand held out in front of me.

"ANDIE?" I screamed out. "TED?" I ran into the lounge room, and then the kitchen, but there was nothing. No one. "Oh my god, Fred!" I turned to my boyfriend, shaking my head in disbelief. "What if they've been taken?" I ran up the stairs and looked around. All I could see was glass from the broken windows. "ANDIE? TED? PLEASE, IT'S ISABEL! ARE YOU HERE?"

"ISABEL!" I looked through the door on my right to see Andie and Ted standing up, their clothes bloodied, their skin covered with bruises. I ran through the door and threw my hands around Andie, tears falling down my face.

"I was so scared for a moment that you weren't here, and that they'd taken you," I cried onto her shoulder. "They came to the wedding and interrogated all of us...Harry got out though...I thought you'd be okay." Andie stroked my hair and rocked me back and forth. I was hysterical - we had no power anymore, we were the ones at their mercy. "They've taken the Ministry, Andie."

"What?" Ted said, his eyes widening.

"The Minister of Magic was killed. The Death Eaters have complete control, they've taken Hogwarts and the Ministry," Fred told him, entering the room.

"What does this mean?" Andie said, releasing me from her grip. I stepped back and shook my head. How was that question supposed to be answered when we didn't anticipate the Ministry falling as soon as it did? Nothing was predictable anymore.

"I can't answer that, but I have something I need to tell you. I'm moving out, Andie. Fred, George and I are going to live with Bill and Fleur - Molly and Arthur think its the most safe option for us. But I don't want to go unless you'll be okay without me." Andie smiled and took my hands.

"You're going. Ted and I have experience with this, we can look after ourselves. You need to be as safe as you possibly can be. But make sure you keep in contact, I need to know how you are." I nodded, then threw my arms around Andie. She was more of a Mother to me than my own Mother was. There was a part of me that wanted to stay with her and protect her as much as I could, but I knew I had to leave. I held Andie tightly in my arms, trying not to let my tears get the better of me. "I love you, Isabel," she whispered, kissing my head.

"I love you too, Andie." I let her go and turned towards Ted.

"Come here, kiddo," he said, holding his arms out. I wrapped my arms around the man who had come to be my second father. "You stay safe, sweetheart, promise?"

"I promise." I stepped back away from Ted's arms, then walked into my bedroom to begin packing my things. There wasn't anything else I could do or say anymore. I opened my wardrobe and started throwing my clothes into my trunk. On the outside I was composed, but on the inside, my heart was breaking and I was a lost little girl, trying to find her way through this war.

* * *

We hadn't been here long, but it felt like it had been weeks. We could rarely go outside, and there was next to nothing to do but sit around and wait for someone to say something. Bill, Fleur, Fred, George and I sat around the radio, listening to the music that was playing, and the occasional news popping up here and there. The song had suddenly stopped playing, and what came out of the radio shocked me.

"Severus Snape, newly appointed headmaster of Hogwarts - " I zoned out from the rest of it. Father. Headmaster. He had replaced the man he had killed. The Death Eaters had control of Hogwarts. What did this even mean for the Muggle-borns? Would they be killed? Tortured? My own former students...I felt so guilty that they would have to deal with that. They were just kids!

"I don't even know what to say," Bill said, shaking his head at the news.

"Nothing would be a good start," George told him. "What else are we supposed to say?"

* * *

I walked into the kitchen to look for food. I opened the main cupboard, and there was a few tins. I then looked in the one next to it, and there was a few rotting vegetables. It became clear that we had to go and find things to eat. We couldn't live with no food! The problem was, to get the food we needed to eat, we had to go into Diagon Alley, as none of us had any Muggle money, and Diagon Alley was no longer safe anymore for us. I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room holding one of the rotting vegetables.

"That's disgusting!" George said, taking notice of the vegetable in my hand.

"There's nothing in there that we can eat anymore."

"I knew we should have gotten supplies before we got here," Bill said, seemingly to himself.

"One of us needs to go and get it...and I propose that I should be the one to go and get the food."

"What?" Fred said. "No." He got up from his seat and walked over to me. "There is absolutely no way you're going into Diagon Alley. No way."

"Who do you propose to go, Fred?" I asked him. "You, Bill and George cannot go. You're Weasley's, you know you're being tracked, and if they get you, who knows what they'll do to you! Fleur cannot go, because imagine what they'd do to her! She's too fragile to go! That leaves me, and I am a Snape, they wouldn't kill me."

"How do you know they wouldn't kill you, Isabel?" Fred asked me. He placed his hand on my cheek and stroked it. "I don't want you to go."

"We cannot starve," I told him, taking his hand from my cheek and kissing it. "You know that I have to be the one that goes. I'll be okay." I stepped back, away from him. "I'll leave in an hour."

* * *

I walked down Diagon Alley, the hood over my head, the sunglasses over my face. If I was seen, I would be captured, but I had agreed to take this on. I had to protect the ones I care about, and if I was caught, I'd have the least chance of being killed. Everything had changed. Shop windows were broken, there was screaming, and everything was dark. There was no colour, no sunshine...nothing. I walked quickly down the cobbled alleyway and into the nearest food shop I could find. I took out my money and began placing whatever I could get into the bag I was holding. I must have looked very desperate, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

* * *

I was confident I had made it. I had everything I needed, and no one had touched me or questioned what I was doing in the alley. I breathed a sigh of relief. Managing to keep a low profile was easier than I originally thought. I checked that everything was in order. I had my bags of food and other small necessities and my money. I was ready to apparate back home, but suddenly, I was pushed against a wall. An arm went across my throat. I was pinned down, surrounded by three snatchers.

"What have we got here, lads?" They grabbed my sunglasses, took my wand, threw them to the ground, then pushed my hood back. I leaned my head back against the wall as they inspected me. A smirk then grew on the man who was standing behind the snatcher who was holding me down.

"Isabel Snape." I looked up through my hair to see the person that familiar voice belonged to. Greyback. "I am surprised to see you around here...considering it's so..." Greyback moved towards me and placed his lips on my neck. I breathed in slowly, attempting to keep myself calm. Having a panic attack was not going to help me in this situation. "Dangerous," he breathed out, removing his lips from my neck.

"What are we doing with this one boss? Ministry?" One of the snatchers asked Greyback.

"It'd be pointless taking her to the Ministry considering we know she's a Pureblood." Wrong. "However, I do think she's too important to just, let go. So I have the perfect place for her." He held out his hand towards me. "Come on, my love. I'm taking you to see your Daddy."

* * *

We arrived at a place I knew all too well. Greyback held my hands behind my back, forcing me to move forward faster than I wanted. The huge gates of the Manor in front of me were the gates to my own personal hell. I was now a prisoner. All I could think of was Fred. He had no idea where I was. Greyback pushed me forwards until we reached the gates. It was silent, except for a few footsteps that became louder and louder as the seconds went past. Suddenly, a woman I knew all too well appeared. She looked exactly like Andromeda, only more sadistic, dirty and scary. Bellatrix Lestrange.

"I thought I told you snatchers to only bring those who are worth it to the Manor! If you have wasted my time yet again..."

"Mrs. Lestrange, we assure you this one will not be a waste of your time. She is the one that the men speak of..." The men speak of me? I felt myself become even colder at those words. I knew what they spoke about...and it definitely wasn't my magical abilities. Bellatrix pressed her face up to the gates. She cackled, her eyes widening as she realised who I was. "Isn't this precious! Severus will be pleased to see you..." The gates to the Manor opened, as Greyback led me inside. He stopped me just in front of Bellatrix, handing her my wand. Bellatrix moved around me, stalking me like a lion would stalk their prey. My breathing became erratic as she ran her finger along my cheek. She frightened me more than any other Death Eater I had seen before. The worst part about standing here was knowing I was this close to the person that killed Sirius, and I couldn't do anything about it.

"Your services are no longer needed, snatchers. Leave," Bellatrix snapped. The snatchers bowed their heads towards Bellatrix, then left immediately without another word. Bellatrix grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the front doors of the Manor. I offered little resistance, putting up a fight wasn't going to get me anywhere right now.

"You are the little miss perfect that I have heard about! It's a shame that we have only seen each other from a distance. I'm amazed that with a look such as yours that you are with that filth, the Order. You look like you'd fit the Death Eater part." Was Bellatrix Lestrange making small talk with me? "I also know that you have the skills to be one of us, why, were you not the one that cut me during our last battle?" I was beginning to become more anxious as she remembered what I had done to her. "Not many people are able to take me out like that, although you did have help from that pathetic Weasley child." She pulled me into a long room...it was almost certainly the drawing room that I once had dinner in.

"Kneel here," Bellatrix said harshly. I simply looked up, and did not abide by her wishes. She could torture me as much as she wanted, but I would never kneel at her feet. "Well, we are stubborn. Funny, just like your father...only stupid. I said kneel!" She pointed her wand at me and forced me onto my knees. "Much better! You and I are going to be such great friends, Isabel!" Suddenly, the door opened. Lucius and Narcissa entered, and Lucius was the worst I had ever seen him.

"What's this about a new prisoner?" Lucius asked. Bellatrix moved out of the way, and moments later, a shocked expression came over Lucius' face.

"Isabel," he whispered, loud enough for the rest of us to hear him. I said nothing in return to him. He walked over and looked down at me. "So you've finally come to the place you belong." I glared at him as he took hold of my face gently. "You were captured? What kind of stupidity would lead you of all people to walk out into public view?"

"What stupidity would lead someone into thinking that this is how the Wizarding World should be? How is the inferiority treating you, Lucius, now that your master no longer respects you?" He raised a hand, and held it above his head. I closed my eyes, waiting for the blow...but it never came.

"What use is she going to be to us?" Lucius asked, standing up and looking at his sister-in-law.

"We have an Order member in our captivity, Lucius! And her of all people!" Bellatrix skipped towards me and patted my hair slowly. "Besides, I quite like the poetry of this. I mean, I was the one that killed the man that she was in love with." I breathed in to keep my calm. I couldn't snap over Sirius. They'd curse me until I was on the brink of death if I did. "I pointed my wand towards him, and shot the curse that made him fall back into that veil. But it all turned out okay though. You still had that filthy werewolf to keep you company." I jumped up and tackled Bellatrix back. I punched her in the face several times before I felt myself being blasted back into the wall behind me.

"What is going on in here?" I heard a familiar voice say. I opened my eyes to see Bellatrix standing in front of my, blocking me from the voice. I knew who it was though.

"Severus!" Bellatrix called out, hiding me from Father's view. "We have a gift for you!" She stepped out of the way, and there was the man that betrayed me. There was the man that had done this to us. Just looking at his face made me furious. He had killed Dumbledore, and now, here I was, surrounded by Death Eaters.

"Isabel," he breathed out, in complete shock. "You've been captured."

"Isn't this brilliant, Severus?" Bellatrix cackled. "You and your daughter reunited. Now, if only you could make her become a Death Eater..." Father walked towards me and stared down at me. I had never seen the look in his eye before...was it pity? Pity that I had been caught by his stupid friends? How could he pity me? He obviously did not care for me at all...he was the one that betrayed me.

"Why is she here?" Father asked, turning around to Bellatrix.

"Why are you here, is the question? Should you not be at Hogwarts teaching the brats?"

"Oh stop it, Bellatrix, and answer my question."

"The snatches brought her to us. They think that she could be of some use to us obviously, but I simply see her as leverage against the Order." Bellatrix moved behind me, stalking me as if I was her prey. Father looked back down at me, his face showing no emotion. He then turned his back to me and began to leave the room.

"Just put her in the cellar and be done with it," he called out before he walked down the stairs, away from the drawing room. Bellatrix laughed as Father walked away.

"He was very happy to see you, wasn't he?" Bellatrix cackled. She then turned to her sister and nodded towards her. "Dress her up for dinner, Narcissa. The Dark Lord will be very pleased to meet you indeed," Bellatrix said with a smirk. The Dark Lord...Voldemort...he'd be here. Fear came over me, I did not want to be in the same room as him, because I know I would act out somehow. Narcissa helped me stand then took me out of the room gently. Her hands shook, she was either nervous, or very unwell. Narcissa lead me into a small room at the end of a very long hall. It had a bed and a dressing table. The window was boarded, so no one could see in or out.

"This will be where you're staying," Narcissa said, her voice flat.

"I'm not staying in your makeshift jail then?" I asked her.

"Bellatrix seems to think you're more important than that, or more valuable. Here, take this." Narcissa handed me a long black dress, which left little to the imagination in the way the neckline was cut.

"I can't wear this," I whispered, looking up and down at it. "There must be something else."

"You must wear it. Listen to me right now, do not question the Death Eaters' practices, or you will not last long in here. Do you understand me, Isabel?" I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. Narcissa turned her back and left the room, leaving me all alone in the cold, dull room. My knees buckled as I fell to the floor, sobbing. Fleur, Fred, George and Bill had no idea where I was, and I would never be able to escape from here. Unless I played along with their rules, my chances of survival were becoming slimmer by the second.

* * *

I stood in front of the mirror in my black, floor length dress. The neckline was plunging, exposing plenty of cleavage and skin. Was this something they did to every 'important' female prisoner? I tried all I could to hide what I didn't want people to see, but it was no use. There was a knock at the door, then moments later, the door flew open. Two Death Eaters stood there, staring at me.

"Dinner has been served." I didn't move. I didn't want to submit anymore. One of the Death Eaters walked into the room and dragged me out into the hallway, before the other one started dragging me towards the drawing room. Lucius, Draco, Narcissa, Bellatrix and Father all sat at the table, as well as other Death Eaters, staring up at me. I then looked to the head of the table, and there he was. I had never been more terrified in my life. It was like m heart had stopped from fear. Voldemort. He was just as everyone had pictured him. He was more snakelike than human. He was not like us. His eyes were trailing every part of my body, inspecting me. He then rose from his seat.

"To the Death Eaters that do not know, we have the pleasure of having a very special guest with us. Miss. Isabel Snape." He walked towards me and ran his cold finger down my cheek. "It is an honour to finally meet you Miss. Snape. I have not been disappointed. Come!" He took my hand and pulled me away with him. I was lifeless at this point. I had no emotions. If I refused to go with him, I would be killed. I just had to play along...anything to get out of here. Voldemort sat me down in the seat next to him.

"Get her some wine! Someone!" He turned to me, a smirk on his face. "I am sorry that the hospitality is not up to scratch. Severus, what a fine daughter you have produced."

"Thank you, my Lord," he said, bowing his head.

"Although, the only downside to her is that she is apart of the Order." Oh no. I didn't want a discussion of my loyalties. "The Order, Miss. Snape, are a failing organisation. What do you think Harry Potter will give you? I could give you the power that you deserve. Those mudbloods take the things that you deserve, Miss. Snape. How is that fair on you? Tell me what Potter will give you."

"Freedom," I snapped at Voldemort. He simply laughed at my words.

"Oh, Severus, she is a laugh too! Everybody leave, I want a moment alone with Miss. Snape." The room cleared quickly...almost instantly. There was no doubt they feared Voldemort as well. That fear was perhaps what kept some of them here. Voldemort rose from his seat and went to stand behind me once the room was cleared.

"I am very glad you're here, Miss. Snape, you see, we need more female Death Eaters to lead the charge, and show the rest of the Wizarding world that women are not just the ones who have to sit back and watch the men take over and have the power. Join us, Isabel. Join us and you will have all the power that you have ever wanted." I threw back my chair and turned towards Voldemort.

"Let me make this quite clear to you, I will never join the Death Eaters. My loyalty is to Harry Potter, and I will never, ever, serve you."

"Crucio!" I fell to my knees, screaming. The pain was like nothing I had ever felt. It was searing and sharp at the same time, like someone was burning me, yet stabbing me with a thousand knives. I rolled around the floor, crying and screaming as the pain continued. I was so afraid. I couldn't stop this from happening. As Voldemort called in other Death Eaters I distanced myself from my mind. I turned into a emotionless object. I didn't want to feel a thing. As multiple Death Eaters began casting the Cruciatus curse on me, the only one thing was present in my mind...why was Father letting this happen to me? Why was this happening to me?

* * *

**A/N: And the tides turn again! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm trying to get these chapters out to you as quickly as I possibly can because I'm so excited to share the last chapters with you! I really cannot wait!  
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The days were no longer days, they had become periods of time. Everything blurred into nothing. My life now consisted of waiting. Waiting for a Death Eater to come and find me, then torture me a little more. Perhaps if I went along with their wishes, I would survive? Maybe I would survive this and get home to Fred? To Fleur? To Andie? To Remus? I sat back against the cold brick wall of the dungeon, just waiting. My bare skin shook, my hair hung over my face. It was a shield from the grim reality outside this dungeon...the reality that waited for me upstairs. I just let the time pass me by.

"Lunch time!" Bellatrix called out, skipping down to the door of the dungeon to let me up. "And after that, we have another little treat for you!" Bellatrix came in, pulled me up and dragged me out with her. "You are a bit weak today."

"What do you expect?" I croaked. "I've been used as nothing but a toy."

"Did I give you permission to talk back to me?" Bellatrix snapped, throwing me against the wall. I couldn't take this torture anymore. I wanted someone to kill me.


	107. Hurt Me

**Thanks to: Robz Robby, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, HPFan, Potterhorse-Spirit, LaFlorine, CookieSpells4, xXChaosForeverXx and Guest for your reviews.  
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_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [See Tumblr]  
Major Minus by Coldplay  
Can't Go Back by Rosi Golan  
Possibility by Lykke Li**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The days were no longer days, they had become periods of time. Everything blurred into nothing. My life now consisted of waiting. Waiting for a Death Eater to come and find me, then torture me a little more. Perhaps if I went along with their wishes, I would survive? Maybe I would survive this and get home to Fred? To Fleur? To Andie? To Remus? I sat back against the cold brick wall of the cellar, just waiting. My bare skin shook, my hair hung over my face. It was a shield from the grim reality outside this dungeon...the reality that waited for me upstairs. I just let the time pass me by.

"Lunch time!" Bellatrix called out, skipping down to the door of the dungeon to let me up. "And after that, we have another little treat for you!" Bellatrix came in, pulled me up and dragged me out with her. "You are a bit weak today."

"What do you expect?" I croaked. "I've been used as nothing but a toy."

"Did I give you permission to talk back to me?" Bellatrix snapped, throwing me against the wall. I couldn't take this torture anymore. I wanted someone to kill me. "This won't do!" Bellatrix shouted, grabbing my arm and pulling me up from the floor. "You don't look presentable enough for the Dark Lord! He's excited to see you, and I will make sure you're as excited to see him!" I pushed Bellatrix back. I'd rather her stay here and torture me than take me to Voldemort. I'd do absolutely anything to stay away from him. "How dare you touch me!" She snapped. Bellatrix took out her wand and waved it, seconds later I went flying back into the cellar they had placed me in.

"No food for you today, then!" Bellatrix shouted. The cellar door locked, and I was alone again. I rested my head back on the cold wall behind me and closed my eyes. Perhaps if I dreamed of something else, like home, getting through each day would be easier?

* * *

"Come along, Isabel!" I was woken up by the sound of Bellatrix's voice. She was dragging me along the floor, along with two other Death Eaters. My already bloodied and bruised skin was taking even more of a battering as I was pulled along the rough floor. I was thrown into the center of the drawing room. Bellatrix, and four other Death Eaters stood around me, as Lucius, Narcissa and Draco stood at the back of the room. I looked up at Draco, my eyes pleading with him to do something.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix cast the curse, and moments later, I was in agony, writhing around the floor, screaming from the incredible pain she was inflicting on me. The tears fell from my eyes onto the ground. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't get up and run away. I couldn't ask for help, because nobody would respond. The Death Eaters inflicted curse after curse on me.

"Crucio! How do you like that? Look around you, Snape. We are the ones with power whilst your Order is burned to ash! Just wait until we catch Potter," Bellatrix jeered. She got to her knees and hovered over me. "Once we catch Potter, you'll all be under the Dark Lord's command. Potter will be dead, and so will all your mudblood friends." I grabbed Bellatrix's hair and pulled it before slapping her in the face. It was the only attack I was able to do before I was restrained by a Death Eater, who hit me over the head. My hands went to my head as I braced for another strike.

"How dare you touch me! How dare you place your hands on me! Avada - "

"NO!" Someone shouted from the back of the room. I turned my head slightly to see Draco standing in front of his parents, his head held high. Bellatrix stormed over to Draco and held her wand to Draco's chin.

"Do you honestly think a blood traitor like her," Bellatrix pointed her wand at me, then looked back to Draco, "is worth saving?" Draco looked down at me. The look in his eyes was one of sympathy. He pitied me. If anyone was going to save me in this house, it was him.

"Yes, Aunt Bellatrix. Isabel has taught me many lessons, and although her loyalties may be different to ours," he paused, swallowing the lump in this throat. It was easy to see that his aunt intimidated him. "They can be easily changed with time." Draco knew that my loyalties would never change, but he gave me something very valuable - time.

"I suppose you're right, Draco." Bellatrix lowered her wand and stepped away from her nephew. "To kill her would be to waste credible magical talents. And she is also a Snape, therefore it is possible to change her loyalties." She walked back over to me and raised her wand. "In the meantime, though...crucio!"

* * *

I woke up in the cellar, the tiny black dress I was wearing was covered with blood. I sat up slowly and pressed my hand to my head. All I could remember was Bellatrix casting the cruciatus curse. I looked to my arm to see the words 'blood traitor' written on my forearm. Bellatrix had used a dagger to carve it into my arm, and it was still bleeding. I quickly took off my dress and tied it around my arm to put pressure on the bleeding. I crawled over to the corner and brought my knees up to my dress. The cellar was freezing cold, and here I was, sitting in my lingerie. If I didn't die at the hands of these Death Eaters, I'd almost certainly die from the cold.

"I just want to die," I whispered to myself.

"I could speed up the process." I looked up through my hair to see Lucius opening the cellar door. He walked over to me and leaned against the wall. "Where's your dress?" He asked. He then looked to my forearm to see it wrapped around my arm. "Ah. Well, you'll be needing new clothes then. Unless you want to walk around like that, which I definitely do not object to."

"What do you want, Lucius?" I hissed.

Lucius sighed and folded his arms. "I've been sent by my sister-in-law to convince you to change your loyalties. Now, I know that will never happen, but I decided to come down for a chat anyway."

"You just came down to enjoy my suffering," I choked out. Lucius knelt down in front of me and pushed my hair out of the way. His eyes were dull, like there was no life in them.

"I cannot enjoy your suffering if I am suffering in the same way." He stood back up and sighed, looking down at me. "I'll send for some clothes for you, and some food." He turned his back and began to walk away, leaving me along in the cellar once again.

* * *

It had been what felt like two weeks. The constant torture and beatings were becoming all too common for me. My daily routine was now to wake up, sit around, eat the little food that was given to me and be tortured by whichever Death Eater wanted to use me as a toy. I was starting to think I wasn't going to get out of here. I was starting to think perhaps giving up was the answer. I looked down to my right forearm to see the scars of the wound Bellatrix inflicted on me. The words 'blood traitor' remained on my arm, and now I feared they would stay there forever, just like a tattoo. I heard the door for the cellar open, and I turned to look who was walking in.

"I've brought food for you." It was Draco. He was holding a tray full of different foods. "I had to beg Aunt Bellatrix to let me bring it to you, I told her it was to keep her strength up so you could be tortured some more." He placed the tray in front of me, then began to stare at the bruises all over my body and my bloodied dress. "I wish I could help you," he said.

"You've done enough, Draco," I breathed out. "This is more than enough."

"I could be doing more, though. I'll attempt to persuade them to get you a healer. Anything." I grabbed Draco's arm and shook my head.

"No. Bellatrix will start believing something is up with you. You are not to risk anything for me, Draco. Promise me."

"I promise," he said, his head dropping. "I should go. I cannot stay long." I didn't want to be so harsh on him, but he needed to listen to my words. Bellatrix would torture him alongside me if he pushed her far enough. Draco backed out of the cellar and walked up the stairs. But I was not alone for very long. Dolohov, the Death Eater, had walked down into the cellar. He had a smirk on his face as he approached me. I just wanted him to hurry up and get on with the cruciatus curse. I hated waiting for it to come.

"Miss. Snape, you look in such bad shape."

"Are you going to guess why, Mr. Dolohov?"

"Please, call me Antonin."

"Dolohov is fine with me."

"You are as moody as they say," he said, walking over to me. He sat down next to me and smirked once more. "Although, if I were stuck in here with no way out, I think I would be too. Now, let me have a look." He went to put his fingers to a bruise on my arm, but I jumped away from him quickly. I didn't want him to touch me. This was Dolohov. "Relax, Isabel." I shuddered at his use of my first name, and the fact he was acting so casual. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yes you will," I told him. "You're a Death Eater. I'm a member of the Order. You'll hurt me just like the rest of them hurt me."

"On the contrary, I find torturing without purpose a little boring." I rolled my eyes at him. A Death Eater that did not enjoy torturing was like a Quidditch player that couldn't ride a broom - useless for what their job was. I refused to believe Dolohov. There was no way this man had any humanity. He was not Lucius, he didn't have a softer side. "You don't believe me," he laughed. "It doesn't surprise me. What reason have I given you to believe that I am not just some crazed killer?"

"Nothing, as of yet."

"You have a sense of humour," he said. "I like it."

"What do you want, exactly, Dolohov? If you haven't realised I'm not exactly up to visitors right now."

"Isabel, please. I am the one keeping them from coming down here and torturing you until they break you in half. If I was not down here, Bellatrix and her friends would be taking pleasure from your screaming right about now. So you should be thanking me." Perhaps having Dolohov around wasn't so bad after all. He didn't seem like he wanted to kill me, and he was keeping the others away. He may be a Death Eater, but I could use him to my advantage. If I kept him around for long enough, I may just survive getting out of this place.

"So you're telling me you simply came here for a chat?" I asked him, raising my eyebrows. "Forgive me if I'm skeptical."

"I wanted to suss out who Severus' daughter was. You are a mysterious figure amongst the Death Eaters. Most of them don't want to go near you because you're a blood traitor, but I can look past that. All we seem to know is you're Severus' daughter who's loyal to Harry Potter."

"Dolohov, you're wasting your time."

"Hmm, you're right. Let's just cut to the chase." Dolohov grabbed the back of my head and pressed his lips roughly to mine. I knew it was too good to be true. I knew he had an ulterior motive. I slapped his face and pushed him back. He held his cheek and looked back down at me. "You should not have done that." He roughly pushed me back against the wall and his hands began to pull at my dress. My eyes widened as I realised what was happening. I tried desperately to push him off, but it wasn't happening. He was too strong.

"HELP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Dolohov pulled off my dress and covered my mouth with his hand so my cries for help were muffled.

"Screaming will do nothing, would it not be better to play along?" He pushed me up against the wall and started kissing my neck roughly. I tried to hit him and fight back, but it was no use. He was much too strong for me.

"DOLOHOV!" Dolohov froze at the familiar voice. I ran over to the entrance of the cellar where Lucius was standing. As much as I hated him, he was my safe haven right now. I grabbed onto his arm and stood behind him as Dolohov walked over to him.

"I was taking care of her, just like Bellatrix asked me to," Dolohov said, holding his head high. "And besides, you're nothing anymore. Why should I be listening to you?"

"Taking care of her does not entail rape, especially the daughter of a respected member of the Death Eaters. She is not like those mudbloods, Dolohov. She is actually worth something. You touch her again and I will make sure Severus deals with you. Do you understand Antonin?" Dolohov glared at Lucius before nodding and leaving the cellar. Once he was gone, I fell into Lucius' arms. I despised Lucius, but he just stopped Dolohov from raping me...and he didn't have to. I sobbed hysterically and shook my head.

"Thank you, Lucius." Lucius stepped back and nodded curtly.

"I did nothing." He turned on his heel and walked up the stairs, leaving me to do nothing but fall the floor of the cellar and cry over what just happened. I no longer had hope. Things were becoming worse.

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**A/N: Short chapter, I know, but a lot of action, which is good! But it's getting a bit more serious for Isabel. What do you think is going to happen to her?  
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**I can confirm that I have begun writing the sequel to Disturbing Truths! If you want to know what characters it will contain, go to the tumblr page.**

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**I fell to my knees in tears. My fate was in the hands of Lucius Malfoy, which meant I was going to stay here and be tortured. I took hold of Lucius' leg and shook my head, my tears falling onto the floor of the Manor beneath me.

"Lucius, please," I begged. "I know you are the last person in the world that wants to help me, but I need it. I can't handle this anymore, I can't go through it. You need to let me go, Lucius. Please let me go, please...please...please."


	108. Dancing In a World Gone Mad

**Thanks to: TheDiva121, HPFan, prankster-at-heart, ebonbon, Guest, Robz Robby, Potterhorse-Spirit, CookieSpells4, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, xXChaosForeverXx, Ruvian and IcyRose66 for your reviews.  
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_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [See Tumblr]  
True Death by War Widows  
O Children by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I was ready to give up hope. It seemed like the rest of my life would be spend in this dark, cold cellar. MY body was ready to stop functioning. I was starving, I was freezing, and I was in the most incredible pain from the continuous brutality the Death Eaters were enforcing on me. I was thankful for two people, though. Lucius and Draco had both saved me, risking their reputations amongst their fellow Death Eaters for the sake of keeping me alive. I would never have gotten this far if they were not watching out for me. As I dreamed of home, Fred, George, Fleur, Bill, Andie, Ted, Remus and Tonks, I just hoped that eventually I'd be saved, although my chances were looking slimmer by the second.

* * *

I opened my eyes to see a hand touching my arm, wand running along the bruises on my arm. I jumped back into the corner and put my hands over my eyes, just waiting for a cruciatus curse to come my way...but it never did. I looked up, realising who it was.

"Miss. Snape," she whispered. "Isabel, please. Stay still."

"Please don't hurt me," I breathed out, my voice crackling. I couldn't handle another torture curse. I just wanted to be left alone.

"Quickly, up, we don't have much time." She held her hand out. I was skeptical, but this was the only help I had been offered. I wasn't in a position to refuse it. I took her hand and stood up, still a little groggy from my sleep. I leaned against the wall behind me and breathed slowly, composing myself. It took all the energy I had just to stay upright.

"Please...don't hurt me...please," I breathed out, shaking my head.

"I wouldn't...I can't," Narcissa Malfoy whispered, throwing her arm around me, supporting me to stay upright. "You need to be quiet."

"What are you doing to me?" I looked at her as she pushed my hair from my face.

"I'm getting you out of here."

"Why would you help me? I'm a member of the Order, remember?"

"I've been where you are. They used to knock Lucius out then use me as a toy. I don't want that for anybody. And you're important to my son. You need to leave. Order member or not, I don't wish this life upon anyone. I would rather die than have Death Eaters attempting to rape me and torturing me constantly - and for you to die would crush Severus. I know that it may not seem like it to you, because he is a Death Eater, but he cares for your safety. Which is why he asked me to do this for you."

"Please, just...I can't do this anymore. Kill me, please. I beg you."

"No, I won't, because you have a chance of getting out of here. However, you'll have to follow my every move. Do you understand me?" I nodded as Narcissa began to move us out of the cellar. I could hardly carry myself along. It was such an effort just to take one normal step, but I was doing this for me. It could be a trap, but I what if it wasn't? What if Narcissa really did want to help me escape from here? Narcissa pulled me up the stairs slowly and into the empty drawing room. Narcissa moved me quickly down the stairs and through the hallway. We were getting closer and closer to the front door of the Manor. Freedom was so close.

"Stop!" A voice called out. "Narcissa?"

"Lucius..."

"Where are you going with her?" Lucius marched up to us and pulled me away from his wife. He turned me around to face him. I grabbed his collar and looked up at him. Lucius had some humanity left, and to get out of here, I would have to touch his humanity. I'd have to find that small part of Lucius that deep down still did not want to see me like this.

"Please, Lucius," I breathed out. "Please." I shook my head up at him as tears began to fall onto my cheeks. "Don't make me go back to that cellar...I can't deal with this constant torture...attempted rape...I can't. Either let me go or kill me. Please." Lucius stared down at me, his eyes wide.

"Lucius, please, let me take her away from here," Narcissa said, moving towards her husband and placing her hands on his arm.

"Why? Why should I let you do that, Cissa? That will just put us further out of favour with the Dark Lord than we are already!"

"Look at her, Lucius! She's Severus' daughter! Sev doesn't want this for her! She's dying a slow, painful death, and I won't allow it anymore. I don't care if this puts us out of favour with the Dark Lord, he's going to lose this war anyway and you know it!"

"She is not our responsibility, Narcissa. If Severus didn't want this for her he'd save her himself." He shrugged off his wife and began pulling me back down the corridor. My chance for freedom was slipping from my fingers.

"What will Draco think of us if we let her die?" Narcissa snapped. Lucius paused, then turned back towards his wife. "He doesn't want her treated like this either. Draco came to me the other day, pleading for me to ask you to do something. Draco hates the fact she is being kept like a prisoner, and I know you don't either, Lucius. There is apart of you that sees this girl and wants to help, I know it. It is our duty to Severus, Lucius. She does not deserve this."

"She is an Order member!"

"She is a Snape! Will you let them rape her like they raped me?" Lucius flinched at the word 'raped'. I looked over at Narcissa, my eyes widening. She had been through this too - she knew what was going to happen to me next.

"That's different!"

"It is not! First it's torture, then it's starvation, and then they rape her! Just like they did to me after the Dark Lord fell to Potter the first time!" I fell to my knees in tears at Narcissa's words. My fate was in the hands of Lucius Malfoy, which meant I was going to stay here and be tortured. I took hold of Lucius' leg and shook my head, my tears falling onto the floor of the Manor beneath me.

"Lucius, please," I begged. "I know you are the last person in the world that wants to help me, but I need it. I can't handle this anymore, I can't go through it. You need to let me go, Lucius. Please let me go, please...please...please." Lucius sighed, took my hands and helped to stand me back up.

"I did nothing," he whispered into my ear. As he let go of my hands, I backed away with Narcissa slowly. Lucius was letting me go. "Wait!" He whispered, pulling a small glass vial out of his jacket. "Take this. It's polyjuice potion. I'd been saving this, just in case." I took the vial from his hand, opened the top and drank the disgusting potion quickly. Narcissa and Lucius stepped back as I transformed. Moments later, I was staring at myself in the mirror...only I was Draco, not me.

* * *

I changed into one of Draco's suits and followed Narcissa out of the room. I still felt weak, but I was running on the hope that I was about to make it out of here and back home to my loved ones. Narcissa and I walked along the corridor, towards the large front entrance of the Manor. She opened the doors as we walked into the dark of the night. Narcissa linked her arm in mine and leaned close to me.

"After we leave the gates, I want you to apparate home. I know you are weak, but you need to try do it yourself. If that fails, I shall apparate with you," she whispered. I nodded in reply as we came closer and closer to the front gates of the Manor. Narcissa took out her wand and waved it towards the gates so we were able to simply walk though them. Once through the gates, Narcissa stopped us and reached into her coat. "Here," she said, holding out my wand. "I told Bellatrix I had taken it to destroy it."

"Thank you, Narcissa," I told her, taking her hands. "I know this is not easy for you. You've put yourself at great personal risk for me, and when this war is over, I will repay you. I promise."

"You need to go," she said, brushing off my thanks. I closed my eyes and mustered up all the inner strength I had. Moments later, I was on the sand in front of the Shell Cottage. When I realised I had escaped from the manor, I fell to my knees as the polyjuice potion wore off.

* * *

I dragged my feet along to the front doorstep of the cottage. Everything I had been through for the past week...it was okay, because I was just about be in the arms of Fred. I was just about to be safe. Apparting had taken all my strength away from me, and the words of 'blood traitor' on my arm began to bleed again. I took off my dress and wrapped it around my arm, revealing the bruises and scars that were covering my body. I fell to my knees once I reached the front doorstep, my hand managing to hit the door once. It was the middle of the night, so everyone would be asleep. I just prayed that someone heard me. Anyone. Suddenly, the front door opened, and there was a scream. I looked up to see Fleur, her hands covering her mouth as her eyes connected with my body. Bill was next to Fleur. He got to his knees and slipped his arm around my neck.

"FRED! WAKE UP! FRED! GEORGE! GET UP NOW!" Bill yelled out. I heard footsteps coming from behind Bill.

"What is it?" George asked, holding his hand to his head. Fred appeared behind him, then realised I was there.

"Isabel! ISABEL!" Fred ran to my side and scooped me into his arms. "You're still alive. Oh my god. Oh Merlin!" He stood up and placed me on the lounge inside, kissing my head whilst tears fell from his eyes. "What did they do to you?" I shook my head slowly as tears ran down my face. I was too ashamed to admit what they had done to me, but it was too late - he could see the scars on my thighs.

"I'm going to kill every one of them!" He shouted, standing up.

"Fred, calm down!" Bill snapped. "Someone call Remus!" Bill unwrapped the dress from around my arms and saw the words that Bellatrix had etched into my forearm. "Oh my god," he said, realising what the words on my arm were. Everyone began to talk at the same time, asking me questions about what had happened. I couldn't deal with it anymore, everything had just become a blur, and then everything went black.

* * *

"Isabel." I opened my eyes to see I was in the bedroom I had shared with Fred before I had been captured. The rain pelted against the window as someone sat down next to me in the bed. "I was so worried about you. When they first told me you had been taken, I thought I'd lost you." I looked to my right to see Remus, staring at me.

"How long has it been since I blacked out?" I asked him, looking around the room. I lifted my arms and stared at the bruises. Some of them were healing, others were still as bad as they had been when I made it back.

"Two days, Isabel," Remus told me.

"Where's Tonks? How is she? Where's Fred?"

"She's fine. She's at my house. Fred's just making a trip to the Burrow with George and Bill. They're letting Molly know how you are and collecting food. Everything is fine. It's you we have to focus on right now." He sighed and wrapped his arms around me. This feeling of warmth and safety was unlike anything else. You don't realise it until it's snatched away from you. "What did they do to you, Isabel?" I closed my eyes and thought back to the endless torture and cruelty, and Dolohov's attempted rape.

"Please don't make me say it, Remus," I whispered to him.

"I need to know so I can heal you in accordance with what they had done."

"They used the cruciatus curse on me, perhaps fifty times a day. I cannot recall. Bellatrix used her knife to carve blood traitor into my arm, they beat me senseless, and Dolohov attempted to rape me." I rested my head on Remus' chest and sobbed. "I can't say any more, Remus, I can't."

"Ssh," he whispered, rocking me back and forth. "It's okay. You're safe."

* * *

The bruises that covered my body were like the scars of a soldier that had gone to war. They were dark, some of them a deep purple, and they were large. These bruises may only be temporary, but I couldn't forget what they did to me. I held my head in my hands, unable to get the picture of the Death Eaters, surrounding me, beating me...raping me, out of my head. It was a constant loop of the same images, the same disgusting, disturbing images.

"Isabel." My head snapped up as Fred walked into the room. "Hey," he rushed over to my side and placed his hands on my cheeks gently. "What's happening?"

"I can't get it out of my head, Freddie," I cried, placing my head on his shoulder. The images of what they had done to me were burned into my head. "I don't know what to do. It won't go away, it just won't."

"Remus said it'll take a while for you to recover." Fred pulled the blankets up then turned over to face me. "How'd you escape, Isabel?"

"With help from the Malfoy's," I answered. Fred looked skeptical, and I didn't blame him. Why on earth would they help me? But they did, and I would forever be grateful to them. "I don't wish to sound rude, but I just don't want to talk about it. I just want to recover, and I just want you to hold me in your arms." I ran my hand through his bright red hair and smiled. "You don't know how happy I am that I have you."

* * *

**NOVEMBER**

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" I jumped at the booming voice coming from down stairs. I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs to see Fred, George and Bill staring at Ron, who was standing in the doorway with a bag on his back.

"Surprise," he said, a sheepish grin on his face. I sighed and walked over to him, bringing him past his brothers and into the kitchen. As Ron sat down at the small table, Fleur walked in gasped when she spotted Ron sitting there. She ran up to him and kissed both of his cheeks.

"Ronald! What a surprise! 'Ow is 'arry and 'ermione?"

"Yes, Ron, how are Harry and Hermione?" I asked, folding my arms. Ron knew he was in trouble. He was supposed to stay by Harry and Hermione's side, yet here he was, sitting in the kitchen of the Shell Cottage. Bill, George and Fred walked into the room and stood beside me, looking equally as displeased with him as I was. Ron sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

"I shouldn't have left them," he said.

"WHY?" I shouted. "Why the hell would you leave them in the first place?"

"Harry and I...we had a fight, and I just felt so angry and I felt like I had to leave." Ron sighed - I could see how beat up he was. It was no use lecturing him about leaving Harry and Hermione alone, he just needed some time to himself to think. At least he knew he had done something wrong. I walked over to Ron and pat him on the back. He didn't need anyone else jumping down his throat.

"Set him up a room, Fleur." Fleur smiled at Ron and then went to work. I then turned to his three brothers and glared at them. I knew they were ready to rip into Ron, but they weren't in a position to do so either. "Come on, Ron, come with me." I walked up the stairs, ignoring the stares of Bill, Fred and George. I lead him into my room and sat him down in the spare chair. I sat down opposite him and sighed.

"Just ignore those three, they're acting like children." I smiled at Ron, who seemed distracted by something else. He was staring at the scar on my forearm. Ron then looked away quickly when he noticed that I had caught him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't worry about it."

"What happened? How did it happen?" I sighed and ran my finger across the words 'blood traitor' that were engraved permanently into my arm. It had been months since I had to talk about it, but honesty was the best policy. Ron wanted to know, so I would tell him.

"I was captured by Death Eaters. They tortured me. And then I escaped."

"And who did that to you? On your arm?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Oh." Ron was as quiet as I'd ever seen him. It was obvious that leaving Harry and Hermione had taken it's toll on him.

"Hey," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. "You'll know what to do when the time comes." I stood up and left the room quietly. He just needed time to himself to sort things out in his head, and then, I hope, he'd return to Harry and Hermione, where he truly belonged.

* * *

It was a quiet night at the Shell Cottage, the first night of December to be exact. The radio played softly as we sat around in silence. We waited for news to come through, any news. A new song began to play, one of my favourites.

"Turn up the radio," I said softly. Fred nodded and turned the knob on the radio so the volume increased. I stood up and held my hand out to my boyfriend. "Dance with me," I whispered. He took my hand and rose up from his seat. He slid his arms around waist as my arms went around his neck. I rested my head on his chest as Fred began to sway us around the room.

_Hey little train! We're all jumping on  
The train that goes to the Kingdom  
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun  
It's beyond my wildest expectation_

We danced around the room to the quiet music. Fred twirled me around as I laughed. He held me in his arms and spun me around quickly, much to my delight. The world outside had changed. The Death Eaters had taken over - we no longer held power. Outside, there would be people being killed for their blood status. But here we were, dancing around in the small lounge room. We were dancing in a world gone mad.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I really wanted the dancing scene to parallel the dancing scene from Deathly Hallows Part 1. So, yeah, there it was! **

**I can confirm to you now that there are 13 chapters left for the story, and 4 Chapters until the Battle of Hogwarts!**

**I was really impressed with the number of reviews, keep it up.**

**There's information about the sequel on the tumblr page, so if you're interested, head over and have a look!**

**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter: **

"If I was more bored, I'd probably be dead," Ron said, walking into the kitchen. I looked up from mixing the eggs, sugar and flower and sighed. I guess Ron was usually the one always doing something, always with Harry on some dangerous mission. He wasn't used to the life of doing nothing, waiting and hiding.

"Welcome to my life," I told him. "You didn't have to come back here, you know. It was your choice." I placed down the mixing bowl and leaned against the bench behind me. "Which confuses me. I know you, Ron. You would never leave Harry and Hermione. You're loyal to the end. What changed?"


	109. Protect You

**Thanks to: Anonymous, HPFan, IcyRose66, Love2Read1995, Robz Robby, CookieSpells4, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER and Potterhorse-Spirit for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Bill's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Roslyn by Bon Iver and St. Vincent  
Speaking a Dead Language by Joy Williams  
Echo by Jason Walker**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"If I was more bored, I'd probably be dead," Ron said, walking into the kitchen. I looked up from mixing the eggs, sugar and flower and sighed. I guess Ron was usually the one always doing something, always with Harry on some dangerous mission. He wasn't used to the life of doing nothing, waiting and hiding.

"Welcome to my life," I told him. "You didn't have to come back here, you know. It was your choice." I placed down the mixing bowl and leaned against the bench behind me. "Which confuses me. I know you, Ron. You would never leave Harry and Hermione. You're loyal to the end. What changed?"

"I was wearing the locket...it's a Horcrux."

"A Horcrux?"

"A piece of You-Know-Who's soul. That is the job Dumbledore left to us. We're hunting for them so we can destroy him." This piece of information stumped me. You-Know-Who couldn't be killed without all the Horcruxes destroyed...what if they could not find them all? "Anyway," Ron continued, "whenever I wore the locket, I just became angry. All I did was complain. I just horrible to them. And one night, I just lashed out and left. I thought Hermione had chosen Harry over me...and as soon as I left, I wanted to go back, but I couldn't. I ran into Snatchers, and then I couldn't find them, so I came here." Ron's story shocked me. I simply thought that he had enough and just wanted to be with his family. I sighed and picked up the mixing bowl to continue on with making food for everyone.

"You know Hermione would never choose Harry over you," I told Ron. "She adores you. I see the way you two are around each other. It's no secret, Ron - "

"What if she does want Harry more than me?" Ron interrupted.

"Ron, you know that she doesn't." I sighed and went to sit next to him. "I know that you feel second to Harry. How could you not? He's your best friend and he is the one that gets the attention. He's the chosen one, simple as that. But that doesn't mean people love you just as much as they love him." I put my hand on Ron's shoulder and smiled. "You're wanted by many people, Ron. Just remember that." I went back to my mixing bowl and continued on with my cooking without another word. Ron just needed to let the words sink in.

* * *

"What was that about with Ron earlier? I heard you two talking," Fred asked as I changed into my nightclothes. I tied my hair back and squeezed into the small bed next to Fred.

"I was just explaining to him a few things. It's something you shouldn't worry about." I turned over to face him. For everyone else, this would be the most relaxing part of the day, but it was hard to feel relaxed, knowing what was happening outside these walls, knowing that someone at this very moment could be dying at the hands of Death Eaters. "Ron's not a kid anymore, Fred. You just have to trust him and his judgement. It doesn't make it any better with you and George baiting him every second."

"Every second is a bit of an over exaggeration," Fred mumbled. I hit him on the arm, my eyes disapproving of his jokes.

"This is serious," I snapped. "If you can't deal with a serious conversation I might as well go and sleep on the couch downstairs. It'd be more inviting then having to sleep with you tonight." I threw the covers off, grabbed my pillow and got out of the bed.

"Isabel, don't," Fred said, holding his hand out towards me. "Just get back into bed."

"Why should I? All you do is make fun of me when I'm trying to have a serious conversation about your brother, who is really struggling with what his place is in all of this. Tell me, why should I get back into bed with you?"

"First of all, I don't want my twin brother seeing you wearing that." I looked down at my nightclothes. Well, the hemline and neckline left nothing to the imagination. "Most of that is for my eyes only, thank you." I folded my arms in front of my cleavage and frowned at Fred. If that was his only reason, it was pathetic. "Second of all, it's cold on that couch and no matter how many blankets you will have, it's no substitute for my arms." That was true. His arms were very warm and comfortable. "And last, but not least, you wouldn't be able to sleep without me by your side."

"Who says that?"

"I do. Just come back to bed, please." I sighed and caved in. It was no use arguing against him when I knew my place was beside him. Just as I went to get into the bed beside him, he grabbed my waist and pulled me on top of him. "And if you were on the couch downstairs, I wouldn't have the opportunity to do this," he whispered before kissing my lips repeatedly. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and kissed him back roughly before he pushed me off. I turned around and glared at him.

"That is the first time you've ever pushed me off," I said to him, unhappy with his actions.

"My brothers are in the next room, and in the other room beside us, is my other brother and his wife. There is absolutely no way that we are going any further than that." I groaned in frustration. We may be in a war, but it didn't mean that I didn't have urges. Fred laughed and put his hands behind his head.

"Usually it's the other way around. This is fantastic." I rolled my eyes and pulled the sheets up over my shoulders.

"Goodnight, Fred."

* * *

It was just another normal, boring day at the Shell Cottage. We sat around, doing our usual nothing. Fred and George sat on the floor playing cards, Ron sat by himself, silently, Bill and Fleur were reading a book, and I was writing out ingredients for a new potion I was making. It was what my boredom had led me to. Suddenly, there was a noise outside, as if something was flying over. Bill, Fleur, Fred, George and Ron all seemed to hear it too, as they were looking around, then turned to look at each other. I was the first to move. I sprinted up the stairs and crept up to the nearest window I could get to.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, kneeling down once I realised what was flying overhead. Death Eaters. Fred, George, Ron, Bill and Fleur all crept up behind me and took a look out of the window.

"This house is protected by enchantments, yes?" George asked. I looked to Bill and Fleur, who both nodded at the same time.

"So they can't see us?" I asked.

"I hope not," Bill answered.

"That's not a very reassuring response," Ron told him. We watched as the Death Eaters continued past us and off into the distance. We all breathed a sigh of relief once they were out of our sight. For a moment there, I thought perhaps they had come to get me and take me back to the Manor. I fell back against Fred who was behind me, as all the images of what had happened to me at the Manor came flooding back.

"Isabel, what's going on?" Fred asked, holding me up. "Isabel, I promise, I'll protect you. I won't let them take you again." Fred's words were comforting, but the violent images in my head would last a lifetime...I don't think there would be a day until this war was over that I did not live in fear of going back to that. He took me away from the window, back down the stairs and sat me down on the nearest chair he could find. He brushed my hair out of my face and smiled.

"Do you know what day today is?" He asked.

"I'm not in the mood for guessing games," I mumbled.

"It's our anniversary, Isabel. One year." I looked up at him, my eyes wide. Oh my god, I had forgotten.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," he said. "You've been through a lot. But I just wanted to let you know how much I love you and how devoted I am to you." He kissed me quickly and grinned. "And you need to know that you are the most special woman alive, and you make me so, so happy." I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I love you so much."

* * *

December 25, 1997. Christmas. It felt more like just another day than a special one, however, I'd do my best to celebrate with the ones I did have with me. I got up and got dressed then made my way downstairs. Everyone was already awake, sitting around our small makeshift Christmas tree. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"Merry Christmas," I told them, a small smile appearing on my face. It wasn't exactly the most joyful Christmas. We weren't together as a family...we were scattered everywhere. I looked over to Ron to see him sitting there quietly, holding something in his hands. I decided not to say anything to him, he just needed time to himself to think. I just wished I could help him with whatever he was stuck with. As I went to sit down, Fred pulled me onto his lap and kissed me on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas," he whispered, kissing my cheek a few more times. "Having you is a gift in itself."

"Even though we do not 'ave all of our family, we can still celebrate," Fleur said with a smile, passing a gift to her husband. "Your Mother sent zis through to us."

"It doesn't really feel like Christmas, seeing as we don't have any thing we can give to each other," George said.

"Don't be silly, mate," Bill said, patting his brother on the back. "We have each other. And the girls will be cooking up some nice stuff...what else do we need?" I smiled over at Bill. He was right. We didn't need piles and piles of gifts. That wasn't what Christmas was about. Christmas was about being with the ones you love and sharing your time and love with them. "However, speaking of family, I received a letter from Mum this morning. Care to read it, Isabel?" Bill asked, pointing to the envelope on the table beside me. I picked up the envelope, opened it and took out the piece of parchment sitting inside of it.

"Dearest Bill, Fleur, Fred, George and Isabel." I looked up at Ron, confused as to why he was not on the letter.

"She doesn't know he's with us," Fred told me. I wasn't going to question them any further.

"_Dearest Bill, Fleur, Fred, George and Isabel,_

_Merry Christmas to you all. _

_Words cannot describe how much I miss each of you and want you back here with us._

_Aunt Muriel is not the greatest company to have, but at least we are safe, just as you are. _

_Bill and Fleur, I hope you are both going well. Thank you for opening your home to Fred, George and Isabel. It cannot be easy for newlyweds to do that._

_Fred and George, I hope you are behaving and looking after each other. _

_Isabel, how happy I am to hear that you are recovering from your ordeal. Make sure the boys look after you._

_I wish I could send some gifts, but I can only send our love._

_Stay safe,_

_Mum and Dad (Molly and Arthur)."_

The boys sat silently, taking in the words from their parents. I sighed and looked over at Fleur, who looked lost. It was the first time we had seen the boys like this, so affected by someone else's words. Fleur stood up and left the room to go to the kitchen. I followed her, as I realised it was a good time to leave the boys alone to think.

"What do we do?" I asked Fleur quietly, walking into the kitchen.

"Just leave zem. Zey need to talk to each other. Zey have not faced ze separation yet." It was true. They hadn't. The Weasley family had never been split up like this. Their parents weren't with them, neither was their sister, and neither was their other two brothers. Fleur and I already had plenty of time to deal with separation, we had been separated from our parents and sister for a long time, the Weasley's hadn't ever had to be away from each other.

"Merry Christmas, Isabel," Fleur whispered, throwing her arms around me. I hugged my sister back tightly, and I never wanted to let her go.

"Merry Christmas, Fleur."

* * *

The snow was falling on the small little cottage we now called home. It was quite cold, so we were all sitting around the fire under blankets. Fred and George sat together, sorting out the few mail orders they were receiving for Weasley products. It was ridiculous, we were under a Death Eater regime and they still sent out mail orders. Ron walked into the room, his bag on his back. He had a grin on his face, which told us all one thing. He was ready to go back to Harry and Hermione. I was proud of Ron for making this decision on his own. The Weasley men were very proud, it couldn't have been easy for him to decide to go back. I rose from my seat and walked over to Ron.

"Stay safe, Ron," I told him, hugging him tightly.

"I will," he replied, releasing himself from my arms. "Thank you, Isabel. And Fleur. You didn't have to let me stay, but you did. You really are the best sisters in the world." Ron went to leave, but was stopped by his three brothers. Fred was the first to make the move, throwing his arms around his brother. The other two soon followed Fred's actions.

"I better be going," Ron told us, releasing himself from his brothers grip. He turned away, opened the door and left to go back to Harry and Hermione.

"I'm so proud of him," I said, watching him walk out onto the sand of the beach.

"Me too," Bill said. Moments later, Ron disapparated.

"I'm praying for you, Ron," I said under my breath, clasping my hands together, staring out to see the waves crash onto the beach.

* * *

It was strange to think one year ago we were gathered in the Burrow for a New Year's celebration. It was the night we had told the whole Weasley family that Fred and I were together. It was such a happy, joyful time. Everything seemed to be going right. And now, everything was going wrong. Everywhere we turned, everything we read, everything we listened to...it was all wrong. No one knew where Harry, Hermione and Ron were, we were split up from our families, and every day we heard recounts of shocking stories about the Death Eaters. We had survived 1997, but now there was an hour to go until 1998 was upon us. 1998 was about survival, and winning the war...something which did not seem likely at all.

**A/N: That was kind of a filler, and it was rushed, but it's leading up to future events, which reminds me, I combined the next 2 chapters to make 1, so that means there are 11 chapters left in all, and the Battle of Hogwarts is not next chapter, but the chapter after! Are you excited?**

**To the anon who left a review for last chapter, thank you so much. It is one of the most lovely and best reviews I have ever received (it even made me cry), so thank you.**  
**And of course thank you to all my other reviewers as usual, you guys are so awesome.**

**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter:  
**"Let's take a moment to report those deaths that the Wizarding Wireless Network News and Daily Prophet don't think important enough to mention." This was the worst part of Potterwatch by far. We all held out breath, hoping it wasn't one of our loved ones. I took Fred's hand and squeezed it tightly. I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly. "It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Creswell." I froze. It was like my heart had stopped. The radio had been turned off, but I didn't move a muscle.

"What did that just say?" I breathed out.

"Isabel..."


	110. A Resting Elf

**Thanks to: Robz Robby (times 2), Anonymous, Mel, TheDiva121, HPFan, Potterhorse-Spirit, Guest, Ruvian and dudulehianette for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Heart of Stone by Iko  
Warning Signs by Coldplay  
Lemonworld by the National  
The Thread of The Thing by Fay Wolf  
Trembling Hands by The Temper Trap**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The days went back to feeling like periods of time again. I had nothing to do around here. It was just sitting around, or sleeping. I snuggled up to Fred's side in our bed and looked out the window at the stars over the beach. It was such a beautiful view. I could have stayed in this position forever, but there was a war outside, and that war needed to be won by someone.

"This war can't go on forever," Fred whispered to me. It was like he had just read my thoughts.

"Then how come it feels like it's going to?" I asked him, turning over to face him. "Everything we do, we do with the Death Eaters or Harry in mind. It can't go on forever but it already feels like it has!"

"Things just aren't working out the way any of us planned." I sighed, thinking of Harry. No one knew where he was, no one knew what was going on out there. All we had was bloody radio broadcasts!

"Fred...what if they win? What if You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters win? What's going to happen to us?"

"Don't talk like that, Isabel."

"It's a possibility, Fred! We may not win this, and we need to start talking about our options."

"We escape Britain. We take the family, and we relocate somewhere else. France, maybe? Australia? That's the only plan I can see working for us, because they'd kill me if they caught me. I don't want to even think about what they'd do to you." All I could see in my head was Dolohov ripping me dress off, and me, struggling to get away from him. Fred realised what he had said and pulled me close to him. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot."

"I'm just fragile about that subject, is all."

"No, I didn't even think." I laughed and placed my hand gently on his cheek.

"Don't worry yourself, Freddie. It's okay."

"It isn't, Isabel. It's not okay. I should have thought about what I said. I just want you to know that I will never let them take you again." I smiled, then leaned down to kiss his chest. I loved this side of Fred, the protective side. I think people were still surprised at my relationship with Fred because they simply thought he was nothing but a comedian. I rested my head on Fred's chest and looked back out the window. Maybe if we had to escape, we could live by the beach in peace. Have a family, grow old, and not have to worry about a Death Eater attack every moment of our lives.

* * *

"Potterwatch is on!" Bill called out. We all piled into the kitchen together, gathering around this one radio. It was strange how quickly listening to this had become apart of our daily life. Fleur sat down at the table next to me, whilst Bill, Fred and George gathered behind us. We sat and listened as Lee Jordan's voice boomed through the small speaker of the radio. It seemed like drivel to me, the others didn't seem to think so. Even Remus, Fred and George had been on Potterwatch, but who needed a radio to know that Harry was still alive?

"Let's take a moment to report those deaths that the Wizarding Wireless Network News and Daily Prophet don't think important enough to mention." This was the worst part of Potterwatch by far. We all held out breath, hoping it wasn't one of our loved ones. I took Fred's hand and squeezed it tightly. I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly. "It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Creswell." I froze. It was like my heart had stopped. The radio had been turned off, but I didn't move a muscle.

"What did that just say?" I breathed out.

"Isabel..."

"No. No, no, no. It's lying," I suddenly cried out, pointing at the radio. "It's lying, it's not true." I shook my head as an ocean of tears flooded my eyes. "It's not true, he's not dead." I grabbed the radio and threw it to the ground. I fell to my knees banged my hand against the floor. Fred knelt next to me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Freddie, it's not true. Turn it off," I sobbed, covering my ears. "Please turn it off. He's not dead."

"It's off, Isabel I'm so sorry," Fred whispered. My head fell against his chest as I cried.

"He can't be dead, Fred. He can't be dead." The thought of how Andie and Tonks were made me even more upset than I already was. Fred rubbed my back as tears fell onto my shirt. Why? Why was he taken from us? I hit the floor with my fists and shook my head. I couldn't say anything. My loud sobs took over the room. Fred rocked my back and forth, trying to calm me down, but it was no use. I wailed on the floor for Ted. He was gone...they killed another person I loved.

* * *

I stared out of the window in my room. How many more people did this war want to take from me? The man who had played the role of my father for the past year was now dead. I didn't want to believe it. I couldn't believe it.

"'Ere, Isabel, take zis." Fleur forced a cup of tea into my hand and smiled. She sat down next to me as Fred sat down on my other side.

"I know it's a shock, Isabel..."

"I didn't even get to say goodbye to him. The last words I said to him were 'I promise'. No goodbyes. Nothing," I said quietly. It was like a huge chunk of my life had just been snatched from me. Fleur placed a blanket around my shoulders and pulled me away from the window. I felt like I had gone into shock. I thought that maybe, because Andromeda was a Black, that everything would be okay. I thought that maybe, they'd get through unscathed. "I want to see Andie," I told them.

"Isabel, you cannot leave ze house!" Fleur said.

"I need to see her," I said, standing up and ignoring Fleur's words. "I'll take my coat, my wand...maybe I should cook something for her..."

"Isabel..."

"Maybe I should pack a bag, they might need me there a while. I should get - "

"Isabel, stop," Fred said sternly, taking hold of my hand from behind. I paused and stared out the window again, tears forming in my eyes. "I can't risk you leaving this house again. I nearly lost you last time. I'm not prepared to go through that again." I didn't turn towards my boyfriend or my sister. I stood still, silently, as tears fell on my cheeks. Ted was dead. Andie and Tonks weren't here. They were my family, and we had just lost someone we lost very much.

"I don't know what to do," I cried, turning around to Fred, falling into his arms. I sat there and sobbed in Fred's arms for the man that was the closest thing I had to a Father lately. Who else did this war want to take from me? Hadn't I already lost enough?

* * *

**MARCH**

We sat around the lounge room, drinking tea, reading our own books. We were off in our own little worlds, until we were snapped back to the real world with a loud knock on the door. I threw my book down and ran to the front door to see Luna Lovegood. She looked as if she hadn't eaten properly for days, her hair was more scraggly than usual and she looked like she needed a good bath.

"Luna, what on earth - "

"Professor...please...come quickly," she panted. I looked back at Fred, George, Bill and Fleur, who all rose from their seats and followed me out the front door. I ran out onto the sand to see Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry was cradling someone in his arms. I sprinted over to them, frantically, afraid that someone was hurt. I whipped my wand out, ready to attend to the wounded person. When I reached Harry, I put my hand over my mouth in horror. Dobby was in Harry's arms, his center bleeding.

"Dobby..."

"He's dead..." Harry said, trying not to let his tears get the better of him. I fell to my knees. Dobby couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. I placed my hand on his head my cries rang out over the beach. I looked back up at Harry. This was the fourth important person this war had taken from us. Sirius, Dumbledore, Ted...and now Dobby.

"Harry...how did he die?"

"Saving us. Bellatrix..." My head fell into my hands as he said her name. Bellatrix. She was the one that had caused this pain and suffering. First Sirius, now Dobby. I wanted to kill her. No, I wanted to destroy her. I stared down at the dead house elf. My friend. Gabrielle's friend. Oh god, how was I going to tell Gabrielle that he was dead?

"Come along," Fred whispered, taking my shoulders from behind. "Come inside." Fred pulled me away from the scene on the beach, Fleur helping me inside.

* * *

"So, you're alive," I said. "I'm not going to ask how you are because that'd be a ridiculous question." Harry stared out the window in deep thought. I didn't say anything, I didn't want to disturb him. After a few moments of stillness and silence, Harry turned around and nodded.

"I'm alive...as are you."

"I'm not alive, Harry. I'm living, but I'm not alive." I placed my hand on the wall and looked around. "Sometimes, I think this place is more like a jail that the Death Eaters have sentenced me to." I sat down next to Harry and sighed. "I can't believe Dobby is gone. Every time we lose someone, we seem to lose someone else straight afterwards." Harry continued staring out the window. I didn't know what he was thinking, nor did I want to. He would be much too confused about what was ahead of him. I didn't know how he dealt with it.

"I heard you were at the Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix filled me in during my stay," Harry said, breaking the silence and changing the subject. "And here you are, seemingly untouched." I laughed at the word 'untouched'. I reached down and pulled up my sleeve, showing him the scar on my arm. His eyes widened as he read the words 'blood traitor'.

"Bellatrix?"

"Bellatrix." Harry couldn't tare his eyes away from the scar. I quickly pulled my sleeve down. I was beginning to feel self conscious. "If it wasn't for Draco she probably would have taken it further than that."

"Draco?"

"Yes, why?"

"Draco also helped me when I was stuck there." I smiled inwardly. I always knew that there was some good in Draco. "It think he's either incredibly guilty, or You-Know-Who has driven him off his rocker," Harry laughed. It was good to hear that he could still laugh and smile and make jokes. This war hadn't taken the true Harry away from us.

"I'll leave you to get some rest," I told him with a small smile.

* * *

**APRIL**

"Well, well, look who's here," Bill said, standing in the doorway. I walked around the corner from the kitchen, looked to the doorway and squealed.

"Remus!" I screamed. I ran to him and threw my arms around him, hugging him in a tight embrace. It had been so long since I had seen him. I never wanted to let him go again. "I've missed you so much. How's Tonks? What's going on? Tell me everything!"

"Calm down, Isabel, and I might tell you something," Remus laughed. I stepped away from him and smiled. I was just so happy he was here. "Dora's had the baby." I squealed again, jumping up and down. I was acting like a child who had just been given the greatest Christmas present of all time. My godchild had arrived into the world safely! I was overjoyed. "And as far as we can see, he has no wolfish tendencies."

"He? It's a boy? Oh my...Remus!" I jumped into his arms, beaming from ear to ear. I was so immensely proud to have a godson. Remus, however, tensed up at my hug. Something was wrong. I let go of him and frowned.

"What is it?"

"I've made a colossal mistake, Isabel. How could I bring a - "

"Don't you dare start with this crap again," I snapped, turning on my heel and walking away from him.

"Isabel, please!" He yelled, following me. I stopped, turned around and shook my head at him. I was so disappointed with him, there were no words for it! He called how own son a mistake! How could you possibly call your own son a mistake?

"Please what, Remus?" I snapped. "You're telling me that your own son is a mistake? Do you understand how terrible that - "

"Teddy isn't a mistake, he is - "

"Teddy?" I said, freezing on the spot. All I could think of was Ted, and the moment I heard of his death over the radio. Teddy Lupin. It was such a beautiful sounding name, and something quirky. Tonks wouldn't have it any other way. "Tonks' idea?" I asked.

"It's Ted, but Dora and I call him Teddy. We think it suits him," Remus said with a smile. Remus' behaviour was confusing me. Moments ago he said this child was a colossal mistake, and now he was cooing over his sons name.

"I don't understand, why are you talking about him so affectionately when you come in here pretending like you don't even want this child?"

"We bought him into a world at war," Remus said with a sigh. "What kind of parents bring a child into a world when nothing is stable for them?" Remus looked like he was really hurting over this. I wasn't going to lecture him anymore. I knew he loved his son, I could see it, but I also knew that he was worried for the safety of Teddy, and rightly so. We were in a war.

"I'll let you go and tell Harry the news," I told him, smiling, then leaving him to tell Harry, Ron and Hermione about Teddy's birth.

* * *

**1ST OF MAY**

We just got them back, and now they had to leave again. Harry, Ron and Hermione had been preparing for a while now, but today they were all packed up and ready to go. I was hesitant to let them go. Their plan was so radical, even I had doubts that it was going to work. But I had to have faith in Harry and what he was doing. He was the one that was going to lead us through this. Hermione was upstairs, preparing herself, whilst Harry and Ron stood with us in the doorway with the goblin, Griphook.

"Stay safe, 'arry," Fleur said, kissing him on both cheeks, then doing the same to Ron. Fred, George and Bill quickly hugged their brother, then Harry, not wanting to look like they were too emotional. Men. I couldn't understand them. It was my turn to say goodbye. I put my arms around Harry and held him tightly. He was like a brother to me, and I was having trouble letting him go.

"I trust you," I whispered to him. I then moved onto Ron, hugging him and kissing his cheek.

"Keep the other two safe." Ron just nodded, not saying anything back. The two walked out the door and onto the sand with Griphook. I wanted to just pull them back in and keep them with us. I didn't want to lose anyone else. But I needed to trust them. Moments later, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and jumped. Hermione had transformed into Bellatrix. I breathed in deeply, trying to fight off the thoughts of the constant torture...the scar on my arm.

"I best be leaving then. Thank you for everything," Hermione told Fleur before leaving quickly. She must have noticed the effect seeing her as Bellatrix was having on me. I turned around and smiled at Dean Thomas, Ollivander and Luna, who had watched our goodbyes.

"Is anyone hungry?" I asked. "Come on, Fleur, lets make dinner for everyone." Fleur and I walked into the kitchen and began preparing dinner for everyone. It seemed just like every other night at the Shell Cottage.

But if it seemed like every other night, why did it feel like something was coming?

* * *

**A/N: So, that was the last chapter before EVERYTHING changes. The Battle of Hogwarts begins NEXT CHAPTER. I can hardly contain my excitement, I just want to share it with you now!**

**There will be deaths, there will be tears...so remember, bring your tissues. You're gonna need them. **

**Reviewssss, 5 more until 800!  
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**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter:  
**"As long as I get to hold you in my arms forever," he replied. This was the side of Fred that only I got to see. Most people knew him as the guy who always cracked a joke, or played pranks all the time. The guy who took everyday as it came and treated it as one big, fun game. Fred and I quickly snapped back into reality when we heard footsteps behind us. We both turned to see Bill running towards us.

"We've got to go," Bill said. His eyes were full of fear, and there was a tone of desperation in his voice. I had never seen Bill this way.

"What do you mean?" Fred asked, standing up and holding his hand out to me. I took his hand and stood up. I looked at Bill curiously, wondering what he was going on about. His eyes told the whole story. Something bad was happening. Something very, very bad.

"Harry's at Hogwarts and we believe You-Know-Who is on his way. The Death Eaters are coming."

"Shit," I whispered.


	111. This Is It

**Thanks to: TheDiva121, Anonymous (times 2), HPFan, Robz Robby (times 2), TheDoctorsAmazingCompanion, Harryandthehippo, IcyRose66, Narnia and Harry Potter 4EVER (times 2) and Potterhorse-Spirit for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Severus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Battle Theme [See Tumblr]  
Safe & Sound by Taylor Swift  
Abraham's Daughter by Arcade Fire  
Breath of Life by Florence + The Machine**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Fred and I sat on the sand, facing the ocean. It was so peaceful here. So calm. I didn't get why we couldn't just stay here forever and forget about the war. Fred put his arm around me and held me close to him. These were the moments that felt like there wasn't anything wrong with the world. That You-Know-Who wasn't trying to take over the world, and that my father wasn't working for him. That Dobby wasn't dead.

"This is perfect. I could just stay here forever," I said softly, looking up at Fred.

"As long as I get to hold you in my arms forever," he replied. This was the side of Fred that only I got to see. Most people knew him as the guy who always cracked a joke, or played pranks all the time. The guy who took everyday as it came and treated it as one big, fun game. Fred and I quickly snapped back into reality when we heard footsteps behind us. We both turned to see Bill running towards us.

"We've got to go," Bill said. His eyes were full of fear, and there was a tone of desperation in his voice. I had never seen Bill this way.

"What do you mean?" Fred asked, standing up and holding his hand out to me. I took his hand and stood up. I looked at Bill curiously, wondering what he was going on about. His eyes told the whole story. Something bad was happening. Something very, very bad.

"Harry's at Hogwarts and we believe You-Know-Who is on his way. The Death Eaters are coming."

"Shit," I whispered.

"I'll leave you to gather yourself. You've only got a few minutes though before we go." Bill gave us a nod and then walked inside. I tried to get myself together. This was it. I knew this was going to come eventually, but never like this. It was so sudden. People were going to die tonight, and it could be someone I am close to. This was the night where either Harry would die, and Voldemort would take over the Wizarding World, or Harry would win, and there would be no more terror. Just peace. I was determined to make sure the latter happened. I turned to Fred, my eyes wide. My hands trembled at my sides. This was all very real. Fred cupped my face in his hands and kissed me on the head.

"We can't escape this," Fred whispered.

"I know," I replied. "Why would we want to escape?"

"I need you to be brave. Harry needs you to be brave."

"I will be. I can be brave," I told Fred. My quivering hands went to Fred's chest and he pressed his lips to mine. This moment was sweet. Peaceful. Fred pulled back and put his forehead to mine.

"I love you," he said softly. A tear ran fell from my eye as my finger brushed Fred's cheek. I remember the last time I was split from a loved one in battle, he never came back. How would I be able to handle another one dying in battle? I never wanted to let go of Fred. I didn't want him to end up like Sirius.

"I love you." Suddenly, there were footsteps from behind us. I turned to see George running towards Fred and I, waving his arms.

"Bill says we have to leave, right now." Fred and I nodded and took my hand. This was it.

* * *

After a long and dangerous journey into Hogwarts, we had made it. This wasn't the Hogwarts I knew. This was a dull and dark place, with fear and torture. We had to dodge Death Eaters and Dementors our whole way in here. This was a far call from the laughter and joy that the students used to share with each other. We stood outside the Great Hall, getting ready to go in. I was next to Fred, holding his hand tightly. I knew these were the times he wanted me to be brave, and I was going to be brave. I looked over at Remus, my best friend, and smiled. He nodded and half smiled back to me. He was frightened, for Tonks and for Teddy, but I knew what a battler he was. He would get through this. He was strong.

"It is time," Kingsley said. We all nodded and I took a deep breath in. Kingsley opened the doors to the Great Hall, and to our shock, we saw Harry, confronting my father.

"How dare you stand where he stood. Tell them how it happened! Tell them how you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you, and killed him!" Harry yelled at my father. Suddenly, Father took his wand out and pointed it at Harry. No! He wouldn't kill Harry like he killed Dumbledore! I wouldn't let him! I took my wand out and ran in front of Harry, pointing my wand at my father. The whole room gasped as we stood there, staring each other down, our wands pointed at each other.

I flicked my wand, and a curse went shooting at my father. He blocked the curse, and we stood there again, facing each other. A part of me didn't want to do this. Severus Snape was my father. He used to care so very much for me, and we shared some wonderful times. He was my Daddy. The reason I am the person I am today was because of him. However, the other part of me wanted to rip him apart. He betrayed not only me, but the rest of the Order. He was a Death Eater, and he needed to be destroyed. I shot another curse at him, and doing it over and over. I shot, he blocked. I shot, he blocked again. I was not going to back down from my father. He had ruined everything with our family, and I was going to pay him back. I continued shooting spells at him. He didn't deserve mercy from me. I even shot spells that he created at him. He'd send them flying back at me, then I'd do the same back to him. Suddenly, his black robes flew around his face. The two Death Eaters behind him were knocked out, and my father flew out the window.

"Coward!" Minerva shouted from behind me. "Coward!" I almost fell backwards at that point. I had just duelled my father. Minerva came up and patted my shoulder.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"Yeah...just a little shaken up, that's all."

"You were very brave, Professor," one of the fourth year girls said to me. I ignored her when I saw Harry walking over to me and shaking his head. Before he had the chance to say anything, I wrapped my arms around Harry and held him tightly. I was so thankful that he was alive. We were family. I thought of him as my little brother, or my nephew. I just needed to protect him. Once I had finished my hug, Harry stepped away from me and shook his head again.

"You didn't have to do that."

"No, I did," I replied. "I needed to finally show him that I'm not the little girl he thinks I am." Suddenly, a girl behind me began to scream. The Great Hall became dark, and it was like everyone had become frozen with fear.

"I know that you are preparing to fight." The voice booming over everyone was the one we had feared for so long. Voldemort. I looked to Fred. This was it. "Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you." I placed my hands over my ears. It was like Voldemort himself was standing next to me. "I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood. Give me Harry Potter, and they shall not be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight." I turned to Harry, who did nothing.

"Merlin, have mercy on this poor boy," I whispered to myself.

"Well there he is! Grab him!" Pansy Parkinson yelled out. I rolled my eyes. The girl was on my very last nerve. Behind me, people began to move to stand behind, and in front of Harry. The support for him was overwhelming. Even students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were standing in defence of him. The look on Pansy's face was something I had never seen from her before - defeat. I stood over Pansy and smiled sweetly at her.

"I want you to leave, immediately, with the rest of Slytherin house, go with Mr. Filch, and set yourselves up in the dungeon for the night. Are we clear, Miss. Parkinson?" I asked.

"But you can't - "

"I said, _am I clear_, Miss. Parkinson?" I asked again, more vicious than the first time. She gave one nod and marched out of the hall with the rest of the Slytherins. Sometimes, I felt ashamed coming from Slytherin. All of this destruction had been caused by former members, and now members of my house. It was disgusting. Once they had left the hall, I turned to Minerva. We had no time to muck around. The Death Eaters and Voldemort were coming, and they would not stop until they had Harry...even if that meant killing each one of us.

"Minerva, where do you need me to go?"

"Go to the Headmaster's office and tell Dumbledore's portrait that it's happening. Also, check for anything suspicious." I nodded and left for the Headmaster's office at once, hoping that the current Headmaster would not be there.

* * *

I walked into the Headmaster's office slowly, my wand in front of me. I was ready to blast whatever would come at me out of the way. Tonight was no night to be putting up with bullshit from anybody. Tonight was about the survival of myself, my family and my friends. The Headmaster's office was quiet, and unusually normal. Father had even left the paintings of previous Headmasters up on the walls. It just was strange to see it looking as normal as it was - it had not even changed since last time I had stepped in here.

"Dumbledore," I whispered, walking over to the painting of my former Headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore," I said up at the sleeping portrait. The portrait woke up from its sleep and looked down at me, a warm smile.

"Hello, my dear, you'll have to forgive me, my memory is a bit off today..."

"Isabel Snape, Sir." I never knew how these portraits worked, so perhaps with my name, he would remember me? Perhaps not? It was worth a shot.

"Oh yes, Severus' daughter..." What did he mean 'Severus' daughter?' Why was he sounding so...calm? My father was the one that killed him. My father was the one who shot the killing curse his way. "What can I do for you, my dear?"

"Minerva sent me to tell you it's happening. You-Know-Who is on his way here with the Death Eaters. It's happening, Sir." Dumbledore simply nodded, then went back to sleep. It was like he had no advice, nothing to offer us in our time of need. If only the real Dumbledore was still here. Perhaps we'd have a greater chance at defending Harry, and our freedom. I turned around and stared at my father's desk. There was a cauldron, a book, and a list. The list was of every staff member and student of Hogwarts. What would Father be doing with this? I looked back down at the desk and noticed that a letter was sitting in the place of where the list I had picked up was. I set the list back down and took the letter. My name was on the envelope. And it was Father's writing. He had written a letter...to me. What if it was a trap? Should I be opening it now? Why had he written a letter to me? I shook my head and stuffed the letter into my jacket. Right now was not the time to be reading such things.

"Miss. Snape, are you not going to read the letter?" Dumbledore's portrait asked.

"Now is not the time, Sir. There is a battle happening outside. The Death Eaters are on their way. The final battle will happen tonight." Dumbledore simply raised his eyebrows and went back to sleep. I stared up at the portrait in shock. I sighed and walked out of the office and down into the corridor. Once I was there, I walked over to the closest window and watched in awe as a huge plastic bubble went over Hogwarts. It was, perhaps, the most impressive piece of magic I had ever seen. It was to keep us safe...for now. I knew that Voldemort would be able to penetrate it somehow. I looked around me as students ran around in a panic. Some screaming, some crying, some ready to fight. I felt horrible for them, they were just kids, but we needed them - we needed the numbers.

"Isabel!" Someone shouted. I turned to see Remus. I ran over to him and jumped into his arms.

"This is happening," I told him. "I can't believe it."

"I just needed to - "

"No," I said, stopping him. I knew what he was getting to, and I was not prepared for it. "No goodbyes, Remus. No goodbyes." Remus kissed my cheek before releasing me.

"Stay strong," he whispered before running off.

"Stay strong," I breathed out, watching him disappear around the corner.

* * *

I walked out into the courtyard and surveyed the scene around me. It was simply chaos, there was no other way to put it. I took out my wand and walked over to Minerva

"Who would have thought we'd get to this moment?" I said to her, a small grin appearing on my face.

"I see it you have adapted your companions humour," Minerva told me. She was right, Fred had definitely influenced me.

"Really, though, Minerva. What are we to do? These children look out of their minds, and just frightened, and I'm afraid they will have the numbers. At that moment, Minerva and I both looked over to the top of the hill. Death Eaters. There were huge numbers of them, and at the front stood Voldemort and Bellatrix. How I wanted to end that woman for what she did to me.

"What do we do? We fight," Minerva said.

* * *

I watched as the barrier between us and the Death Eaters began to break down. I glanced at the horrified looks at the people around me. We had all realised that in a matter of a few minutes, the bubble would be broken, and chaos would ensue. People were going to die.

"Shit."

* * *

**A/N: I have decided to go with the film version of the Battle, because I did think it was done very well and it'd suit Isabel's point of view a whole lot more.**

**So, how are you guys feeling so far. I'll try and get these chapters up to you as quickly as possible. And here's a warning - you definitely need some tissues for next chapter. **

**Reviewssssss!**

**Tumblr:bellabellex . tumblr . com  
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**Next Chapter:  
**"No," I sobbed, shaking my head, "please, no, no, no..."

"Sssh, it'll be alright..."

"I can't leave him! I can't go! He can't leave me!" I cried. Bill put his arms around me and stood me up. I kicked and fought Bill, crying and screaming hysterically, but it was no use. He was much too strong for me.


	112. The Battle of Hogwarts

**Thanks to: TheDiva121, IcyRose66, Potterhorse-Spirit, Narnia and Harry Potter 4EVER, CookieSpells4, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, Mel, Anonymous, xXChaosForeverXx, HPFan and dudulehianette for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Tonks' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Battle Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Line by Battles  
Be Still by The Fray  
Amen Omen by Ben Harper  
Dauðalogn by Sigur Rós**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

Screams of terror filled the air as the barrier broke down, and Death Eaters began making their way into the school. I took out my wand and started to help students inside. A Death Eater shot a curse at the students and I, but I blocked it and sent one right back at him, which made him hit a pile of rubble behind him. As I helped the students inside, I turned around and breathed in and out slowly. I had to do this. I had to fight for the rights of myself and every other witch and wizard. I ran out into the courtyard and shot a curse at two Death Eaters. They were both blasted into the air and were crushed by a Giant stomping into battle.

* * *

There were screams and cries everywhere. I couldn't work out who was saying them; I didn't have any time to. All I could focus on was the battle in front of me. From the corner of my eye, I saw a Death Eater that I recognised from the Battle Over Little Whinging...Rodolphus Lestrange. I had heard of all the horrible things he had done to people. It angered me so much that I quickly finished off the current Death Eater I was dueling and ran over to Lestrange. I wanted to get rid of him once and for all.

"Hey, Lestrange," I screamed. He turned around and bared his teeth at me. It was like a cat was hissing at me, telling me to back off. "Let's see if you're as good as your bitch of a wife." He shot a spell at me, but I blocked it quickly. "Not that easy against me. Stupefy!" He deflected my attempt and sent another spell at me. I dodged it, but he tried to make sure he had the upper hand against me by sending another curse my way.

"Protego!" I cried. "Sectumsempra!" The curse hit Lestrange right in his abdominal area. I could see blood begin to stain his Death Eater robes.

"Expelliarmus!" Lestrange went flying backwards while his torso was left to bleed. If no other Death Eater knew the counter curse, he would almost certainly die, which is the way I wanted it.

* * *

Bodies were scattered everywhere, and surrounding the bodies were people fighting...dueling for what they thought was right. I soon realised that I was surrounded by Acromantula spiders. I couldn't just run, because they would chase after me.

"Come on Isabel," I whispered to myself. "Come on, think." The spiders were closing in on my, and I held my wand out, my hand shaking.

"Arania Exumai!" I waved my wand and 3 spiders were taken out at one time, but this only seemed to make the other spiders angry. "Arania Exumani." Three more spiders were taken out. I just kept waving my wand, taking out as many spiders as I could at a time. All of a sudden, shots were being fired from overhead, and all the spiders surrounding me were taken out. I looked up to see Oliver Wood, riding his broom, his wand pointed down at the battle scene. I exhaled at this close call, gathered myself, and ran off. I just had to continue surviving.

* * *

Explosions were going off everywhere. Fire, rubble and smoke; that was all you could see every time there was another blast. There were foul creatures everywhere. I could see a dementor about to attack a student in the corner of the courtyard. The poor girl was screaming for help, so I ran as fast as I could over to her.

"Expecto Patronum!" A hyena shot out of my wand and hit the dementor. The dementor drifted away quickly, seemingly blinded by the light of my Patronus. I ran to the girl in the corner, blasting three Death Eaters while I was at it, and put my hand on her cheek.

"Are you alright?" The girl shook her head and cried on my arm. "Listen to me. Listen to me now. You need to breathe and get your act together. We need you for this. We need you to be brave and fight. Fight for your freedom, the freedom of your friends and the freedom of the whole Wizarding World. Can you do this?" The girl wiped her tears, nodded and held her wand up.

"Thank you, Professor Snape," she said before running off.

* * *

I around the courtyard, attempting not to be crushed by the giants or killed by any Death Eater that came close to me. I had not seen Harry, Ron and Hermione for quite a long time, and this worried me. I thought I would see them in the middle of the battle, not hiding away. I hoped that they were still safe. One thing was for sure, I needed to get out of this courtyard. I'd be killed for sure. I saw an opening in the now crushed courtyard wall. I jumped through the opening and began to run down the corridor, my wand out in front of me.

* * *

I had reached the end of a very long corridor, and I could hear someone struggling to breathe. I took out my wand and held it in front of me, just in case a Death Eater decided to show up. I walked slowly around a corner to see someone lying on the ground. The smell of blood filled the air, and it was strong. I knelt beside the wounded witch and lifted her to face me. I let out a loud cry when I identified who the person was.

"Tonks!" I cried. She opened her eyes slowly, and her breathing fastened.

"I...Isabel..."

"Who did this to you?" I asked. I lifted her shirt to see a stab type wound. I held my wand to the wound, hoping it would heal, but nothing happened. I pressed down on the wound on her stomach as tears began to fall from my eyes.

"Bellatrix...s-she has a knife...it's e-enchanted..."

"Don't worry, Tonks. I'll fix you. I promise I'll fix you," I said. I went to stand her up, but Tonks pulled me back down beside her and lifted her weak arm, her hand resting on my shoulder.

"You were such an amazing friend to me. I wasn't there for you, Isabel, through the tough times, and that is one of my greatest regrets."

"Ssh, don't be sorry. Tonks, I need to get you out of here or get some help."

"No, no. Please, stay with me." Tonks held out her hand, and I gripped it tightly. Tonks used her other, bloodied hand to wipe tears from my cheek. "You need to tell Remus that I'm sorry for not keeping my promise to make it out alive."

"No, you're not saying your goodbyes. You can't."

"Listen to me, Isabel. Listen. Tell Remus that I am sorry, and that I love him. Tell Mum that I love her too, and that I tried my best. Tell Bill and Charlie that they mean the world to me, and I could not have asked for better best friends." Tonks took a large breath in and leaned back on the rubble behind her. "I'm so sorry, Isabel. I failed you as a friend, but I love you. You need to know how much I love you, my sister." I sniffed as tears flooded my eyes.

"I love you too," I whispered.

"Do you think I'll see Dad?" Tonks asked. "And Alastor? And maybe I'll see Sirius too. I can say hi for him and tell him you're being well looked after." I nodded and smiled while tears rushed down my cheeks.

"You'll see whoever you want to see. I promise."

"Look after Teddy for me. He'll need a mother in his life. The only person I can trust with that is you."

"Of course." Tonks' breathing became so rapid, it was scaring me. Blood continued to pour out of her wound, and she was becoming colder and colder.

"Close your eyes, Tonks. It doesn't have to hurt anymore," I whispered, fighting back the ocean of tears that were filling my eyes. "Close your eyes." Tonks gave me a weak smile before closing her eyes slowly. As her eyes closed, her breathing slowed, to no breathing at all. My hand went to her chest, and no heartbeat was found. Her hand fell out of mine onto the cold, hard ground. My hand covered my mouth to block my cries. I leaned over her body and silently cried. I had lost my sister. My own sister. I kissed her head as my tears fell onto her bloodied. I looked up from Tonks' body and screamed. Why did they take her from me? Suddenly went dreary again, and my breathing sped up.

"Lord Voldemort is merciful." The voice boomed through the Hogwarts corridor. "I command my forces to retreat, immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured. I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, the battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour." I glanced down at the body of my dead friend. My head then fell into my hands. What was I going to do?

"Professor?" I turned around to see Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas.

"Is that...Nymphadora Tonks?" Seamus asked. I nodded as Dean knelt next to me and put his arm around me.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I'm sorry for your loss." I didn't reply. I only stared at my best friend's dead body. How could I look away?

"We'll take Tonks back to the Great Hall, Professor," Seamus said to me. "I know it's probably the very last thing you'll want to be doing, but all Order and DA members have been told to go look for bodies." I wiped my tears and nodded. Dean took his arm away and I stood up.

"Take care of her," I said to my former students.

"Of course, Professor." I stood up and dragged myself away from the scene. Death was inevitable during this battle, I just didn't think it would be her.

* * *

I walked down the hall, still numb from holding Tonks' dead body in my arms, when I saw someone else down the end of the hall. Someone painfully familiar. I pleaded to the God above, if there was one, for this to not be who I thought it was. I slowly walked over to the body, being cautious, knelt down, and gasped in horror.

"Remus," I whispered, mortified. "Please, let me be wrong. Please, please, please." I wiped blood off his face to see if it was truly him. "Oh God." Then, he coughed. He was still alive. Remus was still with me. "Remus, Remus!" I grabbed his shoulders and laid his head in my lap. "Remus, you're still alive! Remus, stay awake. I'm going to fix you. You're not going anywhere." I used my wand to fix some of the wounds on his body. I didn't want him to be in pain anymore. "I thought you were in the main courtyard, how did you get here?"

"Dolohov," he coughed out. "He...he...d-dumped my body here."

"Thinking you were still dead?" I thanked God he was still alive and put my forehead on his and closed my eyes.

"I'm not going to make it," Remus breathed out. I looked at him and tears started falling down my cheeks.

"No. No, you are going to make it. You can't die, Remus. Tonks is dead. Teddy needs you to live," I cried, taking hold of his cold hands. "Teddy needs you to be his daddy. He needs you to be there. Please, you need to promise me you'll make it through this." I couldn't handle another one of my best friends dying in my arms again.

"Dora is dead?" I pursed my lips and nodded.

"She died in my arms. You can't do the same to me, Remus. I need you. Teddy needs you." Remus coughed some more, this time though, blood came out as he was coughing. I stared at the blood, in shock. It didn't matter. He was going to make it. My Remus was strong. He was able to fight these battles. He wasn't going to leave me.

"I adore you," he whispered. "More than you would ever know."

"I do know," I replied, nodding. "Can we please go, I need to get you some help...I need to fix you."

"And I love you. I loved Dora, but I always loved you."

"I love you," I whispered back, nodding again.

"And - " I stopped him speaking by pressing my lips to his gently. It was a soft kiss. A sweet one. Even with the blood on our lips, it was still as sweet as the ones we had shared in the past. It felt like there was no battle going on around us. No war. It was just us in our little bubble. Our little world. Our little moment. I closed my eyes and grew deeper into the moment, before I realised something was wrong. Remus had become limp. His hand fell from mine. His lips froze. I pulled away from his lips and looked down at him. He was not breathing.

"Remus?" I whispered. "Remus, wake up." I shook his shoulders. "Remus, please." I placed my hand on his chest. There was no heartbeat. Nothing.

"REMUS!" I screamed when I realised that he wouldn't be waking up. My head fell on his bloodied chest, and tears fell off of my cheeks. It was like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. He was dead. The man that I had truly loved for years and years was gone. He was never going to breathe another breath, and tell me how much he adored and cared about me. I heard footsteps running towards me, but I didn't look up.

"Isabel?" My breath quivered as I turned to see Charlie and Bill, standing there, confusion etched on their faces. Bill then realised something was wrong as he took in my tear stained cheeks. He ran over to me and knelt down.

"What's wrong?" He asked. He then looked down at the body lying next to me. Charlie covered his mouth in horror and Bill's eyes widened. "Remus..." Bill breathed out. Bill sighed and took me in his arms. I struggled and pushed Bill off me, going back to crying on Remus' chest. I didn't want to leave his side. I didn't want them to take him away so I'd never see him again.

"No," I sobbed, shaking my head, "please, no, no, no..."

"Sssh, it'll be alright..."

"No, Bill...Tonks is dead, too. They're both dead," I cried.

"No," Bill whispered. He seemed to have frozen, going into a temporary state of shock. "Come on, let's get you away from here," he said, stroking my hair, pulling me up. Again, I pushed him off of me and went back to Remus' body.

"I can't leave him! I can't go! He can't leave me!" I cried. Bill put his arms around me and stood me up. I kicked and fought Bill, crying and screaming hysterically, but it was no use. He was much too strong for me. "REMUS! REMUS!" I continued to scream. I was in agony. Losing him was causing me a pain that I had never felt before. Bill began pulling me away, leaving Charlie with Remus' body. I held my hand out, as if I were trying to reach for Remus. I didn't want to leave his body. I didn't want to leave him.

* * *

The hall was quiet. There were only whispers coming from the people who remained; the people who were still alive. I sat in between the bodies of my best friends, my face expressionless. Fleur sat behind me, stroking my hair. My gazed turned to Tonks' face. There was one single tear sitting on her cheek. It was like an icicle, as her face was so cold and pale. I began to cry again, and Fleur wrapped her arms around my shoulder.

"Sssh, Isabel, I'm here," Fleur whispered, rocking me back and forth.

"How can it be fair?"

"Death eez not fair, but inevitable, Isabel."

"They didn't deserve to die so soon. They had Teddy to look after. How am I going to tell Andromeda that they aren't coming home?" Fleur did not respond. There were footsteps coming towards us, and I looked up at Bill, as did Fleur.

"Is...Isabel..." Bill choked out, "G-G-George's g-g-gone..." I felt like I was going to be sick. George Weasley, one of my closest friends, and the twin brother of my boyfriend, was dead. I stood up and wrapped my arms around Bill. He held me close to him and we both cried. Bill had lost his brother. I had lost my best friends. This war had taken so many people from me. If they took anymore, I might just want to be dead. I could hear crying coming from behind me, so I turned around. I saw Ron, Molly, Arthur, Ginny, Percy, Charlie and Arthur standing around George's dead body, while Fred was crying on his dead twin brother's chest.

Bill, Fleur and I walked over to them slowly. Molly saw me and threw her arms around me, crying. Tears were rolling down my face, and I couldn't stop them. George was special to me. He always knew how to cheer me up. He told me to be brave in the tough situations, and he protected me when I knew I couldn't protect myself. He was special to me. As Molly let go, someone else threw their arms around me. I soon realised that it was Fred. He was sobbing on my shoulder and he held me tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Fred," I whispered. He nodded and didn't let go. He just held me. There was nothing I could say to make Fred feel better. I just had to stand here and let him hold me.

"Why...why George?" Fred cried. I shook my head, I couldn't reply to that question. No answer that I gave was going to make it any better.

I fell to my knees beside George's body. A tear fell off me cheek, onto his cold face. I kissed his head and cried over his body. This wasn't fair. He had such a pure heart. A pure soul like George did not deserve to die...not like this. I stroked his hair and leaned my forehead on his.

"Goodnight, Georgie" I whispered. It was obvious Molly heard me, because she let out a big cry and fell into the arms of her husband.

* * *

"This is going to go on forever, isn't it?" I said to Charlie softly. We sat facing one of the windows, watching the sun rise. "We're going to sit here and wait for the Death Eaters to get back, it's going to be chaotic again, and people are going to continue to die." I put my head in my hands and rubbed my eyes. I flashed back to Tonks' death, remembering her cold hands...her last breath...her last words.

"Don't say that, Isabel. We're going to win this war. We're not going to let Voldemort win," Charlie said to me.

"How many people have to say we're going to win? All we're going to do is survive this war, Charlie. How can anyone possibly win anything when your friends and family die?" I sighed and my gaze turned towards the ground. "Tonks is gone, so is Remus and so is George. This isn't a win for any of us. This is a tragedy." Charlie put his around me and held me close.

"Surviving or winning, either way, the Death Eaters aren't going to beat us. Neither is Voldemort. We'll come out of this happy, and you'll be my sister as you always have been, and you'll be my best friend. Some things will not have changed. The Death Eaters can't break the bonds of friendship and family."

"QUICKLY!" Someone yelled from the entrance to the Great Hall. "The Death Eaters are coming, and so is Voldemort!" Charlie and I rose to our feet instantly and ran outside behind Minerva, Kinglsey, Ron and Hermione. I pulled my wand out and held it in front of me, watching the Death Eaters pour back into the courtyard, Hagrid being pulled by ropes in the midst of them. Something was wrong with Hagrid. He looked like he'd been crying.

"Who is that in Hagrid's arms?" I heard Ginny ask behind me. "Who is that?" I looked in Hagrid's arms, but couldn't quite make out the body that was being carried.

"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort shouted. I felt my legs buckle from underneath me, and was only still standing upright because Charlie was holding me up. Harry, one of my most trusted friends, had been killed. Voldemort had finally gotten his wish. Ginny screamed and ran towards the Death Eaters, but was pulled back by Arthur. This was it. The war was over. Without Harry, there was no way we could win.

* * *

**A/N: Tonks and Remus...both gone...how are you guys feeling after reading that?  
And yes, I spared Fred! I was honestly thinking for a little while that I would spare Remus, but at the end I swapped him with Fred at the very last minute.  
**

**The song 'Be Still' was for Tonks' death, and the song 'Amen Omen' was for Remus' death.**

**Reviewsssss!**

**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com  
**

**Next Chapter:  
**"They didn't deserve to die, none of them deserved to die. It hurts," I sobbed, shaking my head.

"Isabel, please...breathe..."

"No, I can't!" I sobbed. "It hurts, it hurts, Fleur. Make it stop!" I put my hands over my ears and shook my head. "It hurts, I can't, Fleur, it hurts." Fleur kissed my head as I cried violently in her arms.


	113. The Fight

**Thanks to: Narnia and Harry Potter 4EVER, Mel (times 2), TheDiva121, IcyRose66, Robz Robby, rosiehorgan7, Potterhorse-Spirit, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, CookieSpells4, HPFan and Anonymous for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Sisters Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Friends Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Severus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Battle Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [See Tumblr]  
Science of Fear by the Temper Trap  
Quiet In My Town by Civil Twlight  
Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley  
Angles In The Room by Delta Goodrem**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

I stared at Harry's dead body in disbelief. It was all over. There was no way of winning this anymore. I held onto Fred's jacket and glared at the Death Eaters opposite us. My eyes narrowed when they hit Bellatrix Lestrange. How I wanted that woman dead. Voldemort laughed and turned to his Death Eaters.

"Harry Potter is dead!" He yelled. "And now is the time to declare yourselves! Come forward and join us, or die." Nobody moved. We would never give up the fight. Harry wouldn't want us to submit ourselves to the Death Eaters.

"Draco." I looked up at the Death Eaters to see Lucius, holding out his arm. "Draco." I glanced over to my left to see Draco standing in amongst our side. It couldn't be...he had joined us. And now, he was being forced back. Draco stood his ground against his father, looking anxious and scared.

"Draco, come." Narcissa's reassuring voice did it. Draco stepped down, walked past Voldemort and to stand with his Mother. Moments later, a wounded Neville Longbottom stepped forward. I covered my mouth. He wasn't. Neville, of all people. No.

"Well, I'd hoped for better," Voldemort said, teasing Neville. "And who might you be, young man?"

"Neville Longbottom." The Death Eaters all laughed. Bellatrix's cackle was disturbingly louder than the others.

"Well, Neville, I'm sure we can find a place for you in our ranks." I shook my head. There was no way Neville of all people would join the Death Eaters.

"I have something to say!" Voldemort's smirk had turned into a scowl.

"Well, Neville, I'm sure we'd all be interested to hear what you have to say.

"It doesn't matter that Harry's gone."

"Stand down Neville!" Seamus Finnigan demanded.

"People die every day." He said, turning back towards us. "Friends, family. Yeah, we still lost Harry tonight. He's still with us, in here. So's George, Remus, Tonks...they didn't die in vain." My heart broke at those three names. George, Remus and Tonks...I still was unable to believe they were dead. "But you will! 'Cause you're wrong! Harry's heart did beat for us! For all of us! It's not over!" All of a sudden, Neville pulled out a sword from the sorting hat, and Harry fell out of Hagrid's arms and pointed his wand at the snake.

"Confringo!" Harry was alive! After all this he was alive! My moment of joy was only momentary though, as scores of Death Eaters began to come after us. I shot curse after curse at them, but was surprised to see some of them gave up easily, and disapparated. Their true fear of Harry was starting to show, and our chances of winning this war had just increased dramatically.

* * *

I had found myself in the middle of the Great Hall, shooting Death Eater after Death Eater out of my way. With each spell I shot from my wand, I began to feel stronger and stronger. The death's of the ones that I loved spurred me on to destroy these Death Eaters even more. I looked over to see Bellatrix shooting a curse at Ginny, cackling, acting as if this was simply a game. I ran over as fast as I could to help her. There was no way Ginny would come out of that alive. I saw Molly begin to approach Bellatrix, so I ran even faster. There wouldn't be anything left of Molly. This was up to me now. Bellatrix had to go, she had to be killed. The war wouldn't end if she was kept alive. Before Molly went up to duel Bellatrix, I pulled her back.

"No. I've got her," I said, a tone of darkness filling my voice. Bellatrix cackled as I approached her, my wand at the ready.

"Poor little miss Snapie. Did I kill your Sirius? You'll be with your little blood traitor again soon!" I bared my teeth and she shot a curse at me. I blocked it, and she began shooting more at me. I blocked the last one powerfully and went on the offensive. It was a continual pattern, I shot a spell, Bellatrix blocked. She shot a spell, I blocked. Bellatrix laughed, and it was as if she was having fun.

"You can do better than that!" Bellatrix cackled. She was mocking Sirius' death. I glared at her and blasted her backwards. She fell onto the ground, and I pointed my wand at her.

"Crucio!" Suddenly, Bellatrix began squirming and screaming in pain. I would have thought she'd built up a defence against this, but obviously not. I finally let go and Bellatrix took in a big gasp of air in. This was it. All this anger that had built inside me over Sirius' death, Dobby's death, Tonks' death, Remus' death and George's death was ready to be unleashed. Bellatrix then smirked and held her wand up. Before she could cast anything, I beat her to it.

"Avada Kedavara!" I shouted. Everyone stopped battling to see a flash of green light shoot out of my wand. Bellatrix froze and fell backwards. She was dead. There was a shocked silence in the Great Hall. Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the most feared Death Eaters had been destroyed...at the hands of me.

* * *

It had been quick. When since Harry was resurrected, Order reinforcements finally came to the castle. We destroyed the remaining Death Eaters quickly, like it was no big deal at all. Winning seemed probable at this moment. Perhaps, soon, it would all be over? Suddenly, scores of people began to run over to the front doors of the Great Hall and into the courtyard. I followed them, freezing once I saw the scene. Harry stood over Voldemort's dead body. I felt like I had gone into shock. All these years of fighting against this one man...no more. There would be no more death...no more pain...

"It's over," I whispered, staring at Voldemort's body on the ground. I turned to Fleur, who stood behind me. "It's all over!"

* * *

The war was over. Voldemort was gone. It was a surreal feeling. We had been fighting for our freedom and safety for so long, and now it was over, and never coming back again. Harry had been so brave, I could not have imagined anyone else surviving what Harry had to go through. I rejoiced with the people around me. I turned to Neville, who was beside me, and hugged him tightly.

"You did so well and I am so proud of you, Neville," I said. He smiled brilliantly. He was obviously traumatised by some of the things he had seen in the past few hours, and during the whole war, but now he, like many others, just didn't have to worry anymore.

"Thanks, Isabel. I owe a lot to you. You taught me a few things that I needed to know." I patted Neville on the shoulder, then looked to the other side of the crowd. Bill, Fleur and Charlie were standing on the other side of the Great Hall. I pushed through a heap of people that were hugging, kissing and just sitting there, relieved that it was all over. The three of them spotted me and let out a sigh of relief. They began to push their way to me. We reached each other. I jumped into the arms of my sister first. She hugged me tightly.

"We're safe," she whispered into my ear, her tears falling onto my shoulder. "We're both safe. I am so happy you are alive, Isabel. I am so thankful. We're safe?" I rocked her back and forth, holding her tightly. I never wanted to let go.

"Je t'aime, my beautiful sister," I said softly. Fleur smiled and her blue eyes seemed to shine more than normal.

"Je t'aime, my darling sister," she replied. I looked at Bill and Charlie, and at the same time we hugged each other. We had lost one of our best friends. Tonks was gone. We were going to hurt, because she wasn't here, and we were nothing without her, but we'd pull together, and we would remember her the way she would want to be remembered.

"It's over," Charlie whispered, "it's all over."

* * *

I was walking quickly through the hall, trying to find Fred. Where could he be? I looked to the back of the hall to see Harry, Ron, Hermione and a family, all with red hair. It was them. It had to be them, and he had to be there. There was no way he couldn't be there. I walked over there and was quickly pulled into a tight hug by Molly. She kissed my head, and for the first time, I felt like I was really apart of the Weasley family, just not someone close, tagging along behind them. I felt like Molly truly cared for me as much as she did her own children.

"My darling, your safe!" Molly said. She let go of me and smiled. "Thank goodness your safe." I turned around to see Fred standing there, his arms waiting for me to jump into them. I threw myself into Fred's arms and wrapped my arms around his neck. I closed my eyes and listened to his heartbeat, just thankful that he was living and breathing. There was nothing more I could ask for at the moment.

"I love you," Fred whispered. He kissed my head and held me like he had not seen me for years. "I love you, I love you, I love you. Thank Merlin you made it out alive. I love you so much."

"I love you too," I whispered before kissing him gently on his lips. I pulled back and wiped a tear that had fallen down his cheek. I had never been more happy for someone to be alive at that moment. Without him, I would have been completely lost. As I released myself from his arms, I took out the envelope Father had left for me.

"What is that?" Fred asked.

"It's a letter, from Father." I opened the letter that Father had written and began to read it.

**_Dear Isabel,_**

**_Out of all the regrets that I have, I regret this situation we are in the most. The day has come, and we are apart. We have never been more far apart in our lives. I am playing my part in this war and I hope that one day you will understand and come to forgive me. I was doing this for the good of the Wizarding World, and to protect you. I was not a true Death Eater. I worked for Dumbledore the whole time. He asked me to kill him. I did it to protect the soul of Draco at the expense of my own. For that, I am so sorry._**

**_It is no effortless task being a parent, and what is an even more difficult task is being a parent to an incredible child. I failed you in many ways than one. I can never take this back and I am so sorry. One day, I hope we can be a family again, and you'll forgive me._**

**_I do not say it as often as I should, but I am proud of what you have become. I never cared if you were in love with Black, Lupin or Weasley. As long as you were happy, I was fine. I only wished for a better life for you. I hope you can realise that._**

**_I see so much of myself in you, but see so little of me at the same time. When I look into your eyes that are so similar to mine, I see myself, yet when I look deeper into them, I see a loving, caring, intelligent, loyal and brave young woman. I shall never be able to be the person that you are. You are better than me._**

**_I still see the little girl I refused to hold when you were a baby. I still see the little girl that came to live with me when she was eleven. My love for you, my beautiful daughter, will never change. I hope you will forgive me, and we can be a family again._**

**_I love you, and am so proud of you._**

**_Your father, who loves you very much,_**

**_Severus._**

A tear fell from my cheek onto the parchment the letter was on. He did this to save me...to save us. I had spent the last year despising my own Father. I now hated myself. I put the letter back in the envelope and put it back inside my pocket. I was in complete shock. He was never the bad guy, he was the good guy. My guilt began to overcome me. Damn it, Father. Damn it, damn it, damn it. My head fell into my hands. What a nightmare. As if it could get any worse.

* * *

I glanced over at Harry, and he was talking to Wood and a friend. Once Harry was finished talking to Wood, Oliver looked at me. He gave me an odd expression. I was friends with Wood - why would he look at me in such a way? I brushed it off and I walked over to Harry, then hugged him without another word.

"Harry, I don't know what to say to you. It's been so long that we've been fighting this war and now it's over because of you. You saved us, Harry. All of us. We owe you - "

"You don't owe me anything."

"No, I do Harry - "

"Isabel please, listen, I have some news. Your father - "

"Yes, Harry, I know! He was good all this time! I am so happy! Have you seen him? Imagine it now, we can be a proper family! He'll be there for when I have kids. Maybe he'll still be Potions Master at Hogwarts by the time they're there. Oh, I shouldn't be getting to ahead of myself!"

"Isabel - " Harry interrupted. Why was he continuing to say my name? What else did he need to tell me? Surely there was no more bad news.

"Yes, Harry?" I looked over Harry's shoulder to see Oliver and his friend carry a body in. When the people around Oliver saw the body, most of them gasped or had a look of horror on their face. I looked over at Harry, and his head fell. Oliver and his friend placed the body on the floor in the middle of the Hall. I pushed through the crowd, who were silent. It just seemed like stunned silence. When I got to the front of the crowd, I looked down at the body. It was covered in blood and snake bites. The black robes...the dark hair...all of a sudden I felt my body go limp. I was being held up by someone. It was Harry. I pushed Harry away, ran to the body and fell to the ground next to it. I screamed when my eyes connected with my father's dead body.

"FATHER!" I screamed. Oh my god...this isn't happening. I would never get to spend my life with my father. He would not see me get married. He would not see his grandchildren.

"Dad, Daddy, no!" The crowd in the Great Hall had their attention fixed on me. I heard some cries from the crowd, and some gasps. "No, no, no. Daddy, daddy please. You can't. You can't leave me. Not now." I wiped the tears that were flooding my face. "Please don't go." I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Fleur, and Fred behind her. Fleur put her arms around my shoulders. It was like she was holding me up - like I didn't have enough strength to hold myself up. I looked down at my father, who was covered in blood. I removed the hair from the front of his face and stared into his dark eyes one more time before shutting them. I was shaking and crying. I just wanted my daddy back.

"Isabel, ssh...ssh," Fleur said, rocking me back and forth.

"No, I can't, I can't," I cried, shaking my head. "He's gone, they're all gone. Why? Why are they gone, Fleur?" My forehead went to the floor of the Great Hall. I was bent over, not wanting anyone to see the tears falling from my eyes. "Why are they gone? Why did my Daddy have to die?" Fleur took my shoulders and sat me up. "They didn't deserve to die, none of them deserved to die. It hurts," I sobbed, shaking my head.

"Isabel, please...breathe..."

"No, I can't!" I sobbed. "It hurts, it hurts, Fleur. Make it stop!" I put my hands over my ears and shook my head. "It hurts, I can't, Fleur, it hurts." Fleur kissed my head as I cried violently in her arms. The crowd began to walk away, but Bill, Charlie, Fleur, Harry, Molly, Arthur, Ron, Ginny and Hermione all stayed. They wanted to support me. But I couldn't even look at them. I just wanted to cry. My daddy was dead.

* * *

My eyes were looking at the ground, my face expressionless. They all tried to get my attention, talk to me, but I did not listen, for I was not really there. I had gotten my hopes up so high, for them to all come crashing down. Wood and his friend removed Father's body to where the rest of the bodies were - waiting to be buried. It hit me that I would have to organise a funeral. My head fell on Fred's shoulder as I continued to stare at the ground. What else was there to do? There were people around me celebrating, but there was really not much to celebrate. George was dead. Remus was dead. Tonks was dead. Father was dead. There was nothing to be happy and cheerful about,

"Isabel..." I turned my head up to look at Fred. "Let's go home," he said.

"No." I shook my head. "I have something I need to do first. Then I'll see you at home." I leaned up and kissed his lips softly. "I'm sorry. I know you lost a the biggest part of you today. He didn't deserve to be ripped away from you. I'm sorry." Fred was broken by losing his best friend...his brother. There was nothing I could say or do to make it better. I knew the feeling very well of losing someone irreplaceable in your life. "I'll see you at home."

* * *

I stumbled through the open front door, holding onto my wand tightly. The blood dripped from above my eyelid onto my jacket, joining the bigger pool of blood that had formed. My hands were covered in scratches, my face covered in dirt, but I had made it. I leaned against the wall, feeling like I would collapse of exhaustion. I took a deep breath in, and pulled myself further, until I reached the lounge room, where I fell to my knees at the sight of Teddy. At the sound of my body falling to the floor, Andromeda turned around, covering her mouth in disbelief at the sight of me.

"Oh my god!" Andie said, covering her mouth with her hand. She rushed over to me and dropped to her knees. "Isabel!" Andromeda cried, wrapping her arms around me. "You're safe, my darling. Oh thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord." I couldn't hold my tears back. I began to sob in Andromeda's arms, realising that I had to be the one to tell Andromeda everything that happened. "Oh my god, you're alive." My arms dropped from around Andie as I stared at my godson over her shoulder. My godson, the orphan. Oh my god. "Isabel, what's wrong?"

"A-A-Andie,Remus and Dora," I sobbed. "Remus and Tonks." I curled up in a ball and cried hysterically as I said their name repeatedly. "Remus and Tonks." I looked up and watched as Andromeda's eyes widened at the realisation that her daughter was dead. Her hand went to her forehead, as she fell back and she burst into tears.

"Who else?" She cried "Who else, Isabel?"

"George..."

"Oh dear, poor Molly...poor Fred - "

"My daddy," I sobbed onto Andromeda's shoulder. "My daddy was good all this time! He was good, Andie! And he's dead. I want my daddy back! I spent the last months of his life hating him when he was good all along."

"What?" I took out the letter and threw it at her. I had lost it. The brave face I had put on for Fred, it was gone. I was hysterical.

"They're dead, Andie, they're gone," I cried. "They're all gone." My hand went over my mouth to cover the loud sobs that were waiting to come out. "They're gone. It hurts so much, Andie. It hurts."

* * *

**A/N: So...what do you feel? What do you think? I'll let you decide all of that.  
And this chapter really marks the beginning of the end...**

Reviews! Come at me!  


**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter:  
**I couldn't handle anymore. I stood up, wiping tears from my tear stained face. I began to walk out of the funeral before I felt someone grab my arm. I looked down to see Lucius Malfoy, holding my arm. I didn't know what to feel or how to look at him.

"Stay," Lucius said to me. "Stay for your father." I stared at the hand on my arm for a few seconds before releasing myself from him. I nodded at Lucius. He was right. I had to stay for my father. I turned back to the front and went to sit back down at the front. Kingsley rose again and walked to the front.

* * *

We arrived back at Hogwarts for the third day in a row. The feeling was becoming all too common. After this day, I hoped that I didn't have to say goodbye to anyone else important to me. Fred and I stood by ourselves outside the Great Hall. We could feel the stares coming from all around us. We were soon joined by Molly, Arthur, Ginny, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Ron, Hermione and Harry. No one said anything, we just stood around each other. What could we say? Finally, the silence was broken by a cough from Arthur.


	114. Sky's Still Blue

**Thanks to: TheDiva121, HPFan, Robz Robby, Potterhorse-Spirit, IcyRose66, rosiehorgan7, Narnia and Harry Potter 4EVER, Guest, CookieSpells4 and TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion for your reviews.  
**

**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Tonks' Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Severus' Theme [See Tumblr]  
The War Theme [See Tumblr]  
Strawberry Swing by Coldplay  
Skinny Love by Birdy  
Sky's Still Blue by Andrew Belle  
There You'll Be by Faith Hill**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.  
**

* * *

I decided to wear a different dress today. Today was different. I was going to say goodbye to some of the people that I loved. Remus and Tonks' funeral was today, and my father's memorial was tomorrow, and then George's funeral to come after that. There was a knock at my door, and Andromeda walked in, holding Teddy. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at my godson, saddened that I would have to say goodbye to his parents. Behind Andromeda was Ginny. I half smiled at Ginny, but there was no smile back. I turned to my godson, who was reaching out to me. I took Teddy in my arms and hugged him tightly.

"Teddy, if only your mother and father were still alive," I whispered into his ear. Andromeda passed me the dress hanging over the chair. It went up to my knees, but was long sleeved. I wanted to change things for today. I passed Teddy back to Andromeda, but didn't say anything, What could I say? She had lost her daughter. I had lost my best friends. There were no words for our grief.

"Ginny, can you zip me up?" I asked.

"Of course." Ginny walked over and zipped the back of my dress up.

"Thank you." I tied my hair up and then looked at myself in the mirror. I sighed as my eyes trailed my expressionless face. Today was different.

* * *

Andromeda, Teddy, Ginny and I arrived at Hogwarts. An area of the grounds was now going to be used as a cemetery for those who fell in the Second Wizarding War. Andromeda walked into the Great Hall first, as Ginny and I followed. We looked around to see the Hall full of those who survived the War, those members of the Order that were left, Hogwarts students and other members of the Wizarding community wanting to pay their respects. We walked to the front where Harry, Ron, Hermione, Molly, Arthur, Percy, Bill, Fleur and Charlie were already sitting. Behind us were the Order that survived from the War. I sat down in between Bill and Charlie. We had lost our best friend.

"Molly," I whispered, "where's Fred?"

"Fred didn't want to come. He's locked himself up in his room, Isabel."

"I just want to be there for him."

"I know, Isabel. You must give him some time. He has lost his twin brother."

"I've lost my father and my best friends, Molly," I snapped. "Sorry."

"It's fine, Isabel. We're all on edge at the moment. We're all grieving." I gave one nod as I looked to the front to see the coffin's of Remus and Tonks at the front. This wasn't right. Two innocent, incredible people had died at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Even with Voldemort defeated...there was no joy. We had lost our loved ones.

* * *

As the funeral was about to start, Charlie and Bill both reached for each of my hands. I took their hands and squeezed them tightly. I wondered who would be conducting the funeral, but then I saw Kingsley, walking to the front of the Great Hall. This was it...I had to say goodbye to two people I loved very much.

"Good afternoon to all of you. Today, we remember two people that were very much in love with each other. Remus Lupin, a complicated, but warm and loving man, and Nymphadora Tonks, a bubbly, kind hearted woman. Today, we say goodbye, and we remember them." I pressed my eyes shut as tears began falling from my face. I leaned my head on Bill's shoulder as he squeezed my hand.

"Remus Lupin was a person that only wanted to help. He took a job here in 1993 as the Defence Against the Dark Teacher. It was there he would meet two of the five most important people in his life." I glanced over at Harry, who glanced over at me. We knew Kingsley was talking about us. "The five most important people in his life were the four that he loved and cared for the most. First, his wife, Nymphadora Tonks. They loved each other, and were there for each other until the end. Second, Sirius Black, his best friend. I had never seen a man in such a wreck before than when Sirius died. They were brothers. They had always been there for each other. A special relationship like that is never to be underestimated." I squeezed both Charlie and Bill's hands at the sound of Sirius' name. "Third, Harry Potter. Harry and Remus had an extremely close relationship. Remus would put anything on the line for Harry, and that was evident throughout the war. Fourth, Isabel Snape, Remus' other best friend. Remus cared so much for Isabel, and was there for her no matter what the circumstance." My head fell as I tried to fight back the tears. I was not winning that fight. "And fifth, Teddy, his son. He didn't know Teddy for long, but he loved him like any father would love their son." I looked over at Andromeda, who was struggling with Teddy. I reached over for Teddy and placed him on my lap.

"Nymphadora Tonks was a weird, weird woman, but that was what made her so special. Every emotion was heightened with her. When she loved, she loved very much. When she hated, she hated very much. When she wanted to protect someone, she would do everything in her power to protect them. That was just the woman she was. She was kind and caring, and she would not stop at anything when it came to caring for her family, Andromeda, Ted, Remus and Teddy, and her best friends, Bill, Charlie and Isabel. Tonks will always be remembered in a different fashion to everyone else, because she was different." Teddy whimpered before falling asleep. It was at that point when I knew I would to anything for this little boy in my arms, to honour my two best friend's memories.

* * *

We walked down to the new cemetery that had been built for the fallen victims of the Second Wizarding War. There were already so many names that were buried here. Tonks and Remus were here, too. I would have to leave flowers before I go. As we reached the gate, I stopped. I could see a large group of people standing around one area. That would be it. That would be where my father was going to be buried. How could so many people attend? Everyone thought he was on the evil side. Including me.

"Isabel," Charlie said, walking up to me. He put his arms around me in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry" he whispered in my ear. I let go and nodded.

"I have to do this, don't I?" I said.

"You do, for your father. But, I think that you'll be happy with the extra support you have today." What was Charlie talking about? What did he mean by extra support? Charlie then stepped out of the way to reveal Fleur and Gabrielle walking towards me.

"Gabrielle!" I cried. Gabrielle rushed into my arms, and I hugged her tightly.

"I am very sorry about your father, Isabel," Gabrielle said. "He was a very brave man." Gabrielle let me go so Fleur could then hug me.

"Everything will be fine," Fleur told me. I nodded and stepped back.

"I hope so."

"There's one more person that wants to see you," Fleur said. I looked up to see my mother, walking towards us.

"Mother!" I exclaimed. I ran up to her with some difficulty because of the heels on my shoes. I just needed to hug my mum. She opened her arms wide as I practically jumped into her arms.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I began to cry in her arms.

"I had to support you today. I am so sorry, Isabel. Your father...he was very brave." I nodded in her arms. She let me go and kissed me on the head.

"You inherited the courage, too. My two big girls, fighting to do what is right. I am so proud of you."

"How did your husband allow you to come here?" I asked. Louis, her husband, was an absolute control freak.

"We are finished, Louis and I. I left him." My eyes widened. She and Louis were finished? I couldn't believe it.

"What? Really?"

"Isabel, my beautiful girl, you need not worry about that. Today, we must remember your father. We must remember what a remarkable and brave man he truly was." I sniffed, attempting to keep tears back as Mother brought up Father. It was like I was being hit by a curse every time he came up in conversation.

"Come, dear, we must head in," Mother said to me. I nodded and began to walk in, before I heard a stick crack behind. I quickly turned to see Fred, standing there, his hands in his pockets. I breathed a sigh of relief as I ran to him and wrapped my arms around his neck before kissing him.

"You came," I said.

"We need each other more than ever," Fred replied. He reached down for my hand and took it. "Ready?" I shook my head. There was no way I was ready, but I was never going to be ready. Mother, Fleur and Gabrielle walked in first, then Fred and I followed.

* * *

I walked to the area which the memorial was being held, and total silence came over everyone. Fred and I sat at the front with Minerva, Harry, Ron and Hermione. I looked to my far left to see Draco and Narcissa also seated in the front row. My eyes then went to the coffin sitting at the front. A tear ran down my face, knowing that my father was lying in there. Kingsley again was standing at the front, ready to conduct another funeral.

"There are few words we can really say about Severus Snape. He was a very private man. He did not like people to know what his real intentions were. Some would say that was the genius that was Severus Snape. There are only two things we can be sure about with Severus Snape. First, he was the bravest person in the whole wizarding community. He risked his safety, and his life, to help in Harry Potter's quest to rid us of Voldemort. Second, Severus Snape had a daughter who he loved very much." This was beginning to get to me. A daughter who he loved very much...

"He was feared by the students of Hogwarts, but he also cared about them. In the darkest time of our history, Severus Snape rose to protect Hogwarts and it's students, and ultimately help save our world." Kingsley sat down, and Harry rose from his seat. He walked up to the stand that was set up at the front, and faced everyone. I then realised how beautiful this cemetery looked. It was on the banks of the Black Lake, and there were flowers and beautiful trees everywhere. Father wouldn't want anywhere else as his resting place.

"Severus Snape," Harry said, furrowing his eyebrows. "He was complicated. He and I never really got along at my time here at Hogwarts. He was always trying to get me into trouble, or expelled. None of us knew who Severus Snape was, except maybe for Isabel. Kingsley was exactly right, Isabel. Your father thought the world of you. We could all see that. Most of us would think that Snape wasn't capable of loving anyone. We were so wrong. He loved his daughter, and he had a strong love for someone in his past. He had a strong love for my mother, Lily. He was brave for my mother all through his life. He was shattered when he ruined their friendship...but he remained loyal to her to the day he died. He was loyal to both of people he loved until the very end. Severus Snape wasn't evil. He wasn't a bad person. He wasn't a hero. He just wanted to stay faithful until the end." I couldn't handle anymore. I stood up, wiping tears from my tear stained face. I began to walk out of the funeral before I felt someone grab my arm. I looked down to see Lucius Malfoy, holding my arm. I didn't know what to feel or how to look at him.

"Stay," Lucius said to me. "Stay for your father." I stared at the hand on my arm for a few seconds before releasing myself from him. I nodded at Lucius. He was right. I had to stay for my father. I turned back to the front and went to sit back down at the front. Kingsley rose again and walked to the front.

"Isabel, if you are up to it, would you care to say a few words?" I nodded. I had to. I stood up from my chair and took a lily and a rose that I had brought with me. I went to the stand and faced the audience.

"Not long ago I loathed my father. I thought he was one of them. I thought he had betrayed me, his only daughter, his only family, to seek power. When I found out about what side he was truly on, I loathed myself instead. My father had died, and I spent the last year of his life hating him. How could you do that to your own father? Severus Snape was complex. He had many layers to him. However, when I came to live with him when I was eleven, I saw the side of him that no one else had seen. It took us a few years to grow close and fully trust each other, but he was a great father to me." I started to feel sick, and I began to cry. "I have many memories with my father that were funny, sad, scary and joyful. I remember the time he first hugged me. I had nearly been attacked, and when he found me he gave me the warmest, tightest hug I've ever had." The tears were really falling now, and I was beginning to have trouble speaking. "My Daddy. He was a beautiful person to me. H-He would make a-a-ll the p-pain go away." I was wiping tears from my cheeks and sniffed, my hands shaking. "I think you were so brave, Daddy. I love you and I hope you will watch over me." As I finished my speech, I began to sob. I leaned on the stand as the crowd sat there silently, watching me fall apart. I sensed an arm go around me, and I looked up to see Harry helping me to stand properly. He walked me over to the coffin, where I placed the lily and the rose on the top of the coffin. I kissed my hand it placed it on the coffin.

"I miss you, Daddy." My head dropped as I walked back to my seat.

* * *

I stood at the gate to the cemetery, my hand holding onto Fred's tightly, as people came and gave me their condolences. There were many Hogwarts students here, too. Mainly from Slytherin. I loved my father, and I was glad that people now knew he had a softer side to him. As the last people came out from the cemetery, I spotted the Malfoy family beginning to make their way to me. First to reach me was Draco, who gave me a small hug.

"I am so sorry, Isabel. Your father was an inspiration to me all of my life, and I fear that I would not be here myself if he was not around. He saved my soul at the price of his own. You were so lucky that he cared so much for you," Draco said. I nodded as Draco stepped out of the way for his mother.

"Our deepest condolences, Isabel," Narcissa said to me.

"Thank you, Narcissa. Thank you for attending. It would have meant a lot to my father. And thank you for attending, despite the circumstances. I know going out in public like this could not be easy on you."

"I do not condone our actions through the war, but we did it to keep each other safe. I hope you know that."

"I do know that, Narcissa. You saved me, and you helped save Harry at a risk to you and your family. We're both here because of you. Thank you...so much." Narcissa nodded.

"I'll be here if you need anything from me," Draco told me, half smiling.

"Thank you, Draco."

"Isabel," Lucius said, suddenly. "May I have a word?" I felt hesitant, after all he had put me through, but I guess today wasn't the day to go back to that crap. I looked up at Fred, and he gave a nod. At least he understood.

"Of course, Lucius." Lucius and I made our way over to the edge of the lake and looked around to make sure no one was around.

"First, I just want to say I'm sorry," Lucius said. "Not just about your father, but about everything I put you through. You must understand that everything I did in the past was to keep my family safe. I didn't want to hurt you, but I didn't want Draco or Narcissa hurt either."

"It's fine, Lucius."

"No, it is not. I used you. I made you think that I had feelings for you. It's never okay to tamper with a person's emotions. I know I can never make up for my actions, but in time, I hope you can forgive me in some way." I nodded my head at Lucius' words. The war had made him smarter, and more aware at the feelings of others.

"Thank you, Lucius." I turned my back swiftly and began to walk away from Lucius.

"Isabel?" I turned my head slightly, just to make eye contact with him.

"Yes?"

"Your father...he was a wonderful man." I nodded at what Lucius said. It was true. My father was a brilliant man. "If I was half the man he was, maybe I would have a little credibility in this world."

"Thank you." I pursed my lips and turned away from the ex-Death Eater. There was nothing else I could say to him. I walked back into the cemetery and over to the spot where my father was buried. I placed my hand on the tombstone. My eyes trailed down to the middle of the tombstone, where there was writing.

_Severus Snape_

_Brave until the end._

I sniffed and attempted to wipe away my tears...tears that just kept coming. It was hard to wipe away tears that wouldn't go away. I hunched over the tombstone and began to sob. My tears hit the soil in which my father was buried, and I didn't feel anything but emptiness.

"I miss you, Daddy."

* * *

I was leaning on the wall outside Fred's room. I couldn't push him on the day of his twin brother's funeral. I just needed to be there for him. I heard someone coming up the stairs, and Ron appeared. He seemed very solemn. I didn't blame him. His whole family were grieving, but no one took into account how badly this affected him. He went through the whole war by Harry's side. Some of the horrific things he must have seen...I couldn't fathom it.

"Mum says that Fred has to come now," Ron said. I nodded and placed my hand on Ron's shoulder.

"Things will get better...for all of us."

"I hope so." I pursed my lips and patted Ron's shoulder before opening the door to Fred's room. He was standing in front of his mirror, looking at himself. I knew he was trying to find something by standing there, but he wouldn't. He wouldn't find what he was looking for.

"Fred?" I came up behind him and half smiled. I hated seeing him like this.

"Yes?"

"Molly said it was time to go." Fred's eyes were dull as he continued to stare into the mirror. When looking at Fred, usually you could see joy and brightness. Ever since the Battle of Hogwarts ended, it seemed like I was staring into the eyes of a ghost every time I made eye contact with him. I couldn't say anything to make him stop feeling these things. Fred had never experienced this type of pain in his life. He had lost his best friend. His twin brother. I could never make him feel any better with a few words. I just hoped that he wouldn't shut me out. I knew now that shutting people out was never the answer.

"Fred?" I whispered. Fred sighed and reluctantly turned to face me. My hands trailed up to his collar, and I began fixing it. After I was finished fixing his collar, I straightened up his tie. He was a mess. I didn't blame him though. Who would be thinking about the way they look at a time like this? I was surprised at how composed I was. George was one of my close friends, and I had lost him too. I placed my hands on Fred's chest and looked up at him, my eyes watering. Fred glanced down at me, but he kept the same, emotionless expression on his face.

"Fred..."

"Isabel," he replied, his voice trembling. I stroked Fred's cheek and tried to smile.

"I love you," I told him, nodding, "you need to know that. I am going to be here for you, under whatever circumstance. I know that your world has been shattered by this loss, but I want to be here to pick up the pieces. George will never truly be gone, Fred. He lives in you." I placed my left hand on his chest while my right hand caressed his cheek. "George will never be forgotten. Not as long as we remember him, in the way he deserves to be remembered. He would want to be remembered through joy and laughter. It would be painful for him to see you like this." Fred nodded and wiped away a tear.

"I don't want you to see me like this," Fred said.

"You need me right now, darling. I want to be here, anyway. I want to care for you."

"I love you, Isabel." A small smile appeared on my face as I fought the tears back.

"I love you, Fred Weasley." I took hold of Fred's hand and began leading him out of his room.

* * *

We arrived back at Hogwarts for the third day in a row. The feeling was becoming all too common. After this day, I hoped that I didn't have to say goodbye to anyone else important to me. Fred and I stood by ourselves outside the Great Hall. We could feel the stares coming from all around us. We were soon joined by Molly, Arthur, Ginny, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Ron, Hermione and Harry. No one said anything, we just stood around each other. What could we say? Finally, the silence was broken by a cough from Arthur.

"How is everyone?" Arthur asked. I looked at Fred's face, then back at Arthur, and instantly knew that Arthur had regretted asking that question.

"What a lovely day - George would be smiling at the sun," Fleur said, trying to make everyone feel better.

"I think we should just head inside," Molly said. Molly looked like she hadn't slept for days, but I admired her for putting on a brave face for her family. Her heart would have been breaking on the inside. Everyone except Fred and I nodded. I kept my eyes on him. Fred's face was like stone, and it worried me. I had never seen him react like this to anything. Molly, Arthur, Ginny, Percy, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Ron, Harry and Hermione all began to make their way inside the Great Hall, while Fred watched them.

"Fred?" Fred turned to look at me, his eyes watering.

"Fred, darling, we have to go in. I know you don't want to say goodbye, and neither do I, because George was special to me and he was special to me. But, could you imagine his face watching you right now? He'd probably laugh and tell you to harden up. I'm going to be holding your hand the whole way through, I promise." I nodded at Fred, who seemed unsure of what to do or say next. "I promise," I repeated. Fred pursed his lips and squeezed my hand. He nodded once and turned to face the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Let's go," Fred said.

* * *

There were so many people sitting in the seats of the Great Hall. Students, former students, former Gryffindor Quidditch players, teachers, former teachers, Order members and Dumbledore's Army members. There were even Ministry workers here - presumably to support Arthur. Fred and I made our way to the front, hand in hand, and sat down. Again, the coffin sat at the front, draped in flowers. I tightened my grip on Fred's hand, just to make sure he knew that I wasn't going to let go. Molly sat to Fred's right, and Charlie sat on my left. For the last time, Kingsley walked to the front of the Great Hall and looked over everybody.

"Welcome, once again, to all of you. Today is not about sadness, as the person we are remembering would never want us to remember him in that way. When you thought of George Weasley, you thought of three things. First, that flaming red hair. Second, the jokes and all the laughter that he shared with us, and thirdly, Fred, his best friend and his twin brother. Fred was the most important person in his life, and those two had many memories that they shared together. I would like to invite Fred Weasley up to say a few words." I turned to Fred, surprised. I didn't know he was going so speak today. That made me even more proud of him, in a way. He was ready to face this. I let go of his hand and kissed Fred on the cheek. Fred sighed, stood up and walked to the stand.

"Georgie, Mum said I should speak at your funeral. Somehow she said it would give me closure. I didn't know how to take that at first. Would I ever get closure from your death? I guess I didn't have much to lose by speaking today, so here goes. You died during the Battle of Hogwarts, being the brave person you are. You died trying to make this place better for everyone. Everything's changed in the little while you've been gone. I haven't made a joke in days - no one would appreciate them as much as you would," Fred said, before tearing up. Fred attempted to go on, but he couldn't. His voice was choking up and he was trying to fight the tears back as much as he could. I stood up and walked over to him slowly. I took the piece of paper gently from his hands.

"I miss you so much, Georgie. I always think about what I regretted with you. I regret never saying goodbye, I regret not spending enough time with you in the last few days, I regret not setting you up with a chick...I regret it all. I love you," I said, tears filling my eyes as I talked on behalf of Fred. "I know that you knew that, even though we never said it to each other. Georgie, I'm struggling. I fear I will forever struggle without you. I try put on a brave face for Isabel, for Mum, for Dad, for Bill, for Charlie, for Perce, for Ron, for Ginny...but I fear I will crash and break down. I'm hurting. I long for the day when I get to hug you and hear you crack a joke with me again. Look after Lupin, Tonks, Dumbledore, Sirius...and even Snape up there. I'll stop speaking now, as I think Mum is probably breaking down. I'll continue to miss you - everyday I will miss you." As I stopped talking, the whole hall was silent. I wiped the tears away from my eyes. How Fred wrote something like this...it must have tore his heart out. I turned to Fred, who looked heartbroken. We went to sit back down in the front row, and I leaned my head on Fred.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to Fred. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Order members, Dumbledore's army members and the Weasley family sat around three big tables outside the Burrow. A picture of George sat in the middle of each table. He was laughing and grinning. It was like he was telling us to stop crying and to laugh ourselves, because that was the way he would want to be remembered.

"That was a beautiful speech, Fred," Luna said, standing next to my chair and looking down at Fred. Fred nodded, not saying anything back. Luna turned to me and smiled.

"My condolences to you, Professor Snape, after losing your father," Luna said.

"Thank you, Luna. And please, I don't teach at Hogwarts anymore, it's Isabel." Luna nodded, turned away and skipped off.

"I need to get away...I need time by myself...I'm going to go home," Fred said to me. I was going to tell him that he needed people around him at times like these, but I didn't want to push him away from me. I nodded and kissed his cheek.

"Send for me if you need me. I'll be home soon," I said. Fred stood up and left the table. I could see Molly and Arthur watching him go, too. Fred stepped out into the open and apparated away.

"To George!" Someone called out. I turned to see Bill, raising his wine glass. I picked up my glass of wine, and also raised it.

"To George," I whispered before taking a sip. To George, to Tonks, to Remus and to my father. To all those who died at the hands of Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

* * *

**A/N: That was probably the saddest chapter I have ever written. Not long to go until the end of the story, now, 6 more chapters to go! But there are still a few twists left!  
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**Reviews, you know I love them!  
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**Next Chapter - Just a little preview for you all:  
**I apparated back home to the Tonks household and ran in the door. A shocked Andromeda stared at me as I ran up the stairs and into my old room. I slammed the door and collapsed on my bed, crying. How could he do this to me?


	115. Break Up

**Thanks to: HPFan, prankster-at-heart, TheDiva121, Guest, Robz Robby (times 2) TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, rosiehorgan7, Potterhorse-Spirit, Narnia and Harry Potter 4EVER, CookieSpells4, NettleBird13 and bookreader1617 for your reviews.  
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_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Andromeda's Theme [See Tumblr]  
The Scientist by Coldplay  
Twice by Little Dragon  
No Way Out by Rie Sinclair & Mike Suby**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Every day just seemed to float past. No one ever talked anymore. We sat there in a deafening silence, not being able to escape our thoughts. Just thinking that I will never see Dobby's face, Ted's face, George's face, Remus's face, Tonks's face or Father's face ever again makes me furious at the situation I'm currently left in. Why did I get to live and not them? What made me more worthy? It had been a whole week after the funeral. I hadn't seen anyone except for Andromeda and Teddy. I hadn't left the house. I practically sat in my room, still trying to process everything that happened to me. Teddy was fast asleep in my arms, a smile on his face. At least Teddy had no idea what was happening, it made it easier.

"I can't understand why this has happened to you," I whispered down at my Godson. It wasn't fair, for a child to lose their parents so early in life was nothing less than a tragedy.

"How are you?" I turned to see Andie standing behind me, staring at her Grandson.

"Managing," I told her.

"You need to go and see Fred, Isabel," she told me. I sighed at the thought of seeing him. It had been a week, and during this week, I had never felt a greater distance between us.

"Not just yet."

"You are going to keep putting it off, as long as it suits you. Isabel, you can't let your relationship fall into a hole because of the people you have lost." She was right, but was Fred prepared to put up the same effort as I was? Losing his twin brother had been incredibly difficult for him, but I only wanted to be by his side and help him. He had helped me out of the worst time of my life after Sirius died, now I wanted him to lean on my shoulder in his time of need. Andie came to sit next to me and took Teddy from my arms.

"Go and see him," she whispered.

* * *

"Fred," I called out, walking inside the house. "Fred?" I heard footsteps come from around the corner to reveal Ginny. Her face was more pale than I had seen it, and I could swear that she was a little skinner than she was a few days ago. She looked like she had not eaten and not slept. There were so many things wanted to say to her, but couldn't find the right way to word it.

"Isabel, hi. Fred's upstairs in his old room."

"Thanks, Ginny," I replied with a small smile. "How are you holding up?" I could see the sadness in her face. It was lingering there. The things she had gone through...no sixteen year old deserved to go through that. It wasn't fair on her. What she must have witnessed while at Hogwarts...I couldn't even imagine it.

"I'm okay. It's affecting Fred the most, though."

"I know. I'm here to see how he's doing. He hasn't spoken to me in days...I feel like he's shutting me out." It was true. I felt so alone. I was waiting for him to come and see me, because I wanted him to feel like he was ready before he came to talk to me.

"He loves you. He just doesn't know where to go. He's lost his brother and his best friend."

"I better go see him. Thanks, Gin." I shot her another small smile before turning and walking up the many sets of stairs. I reached Fred and George's old room and I opened the door slowly to see Fred sitting there, looking down at a piece of parchment. His hand ran through his hair and I heard a couple of sniffs come from him. When I closed the door, he turned around and sighed as he saw me.

"Hi," I said softly, walking over to him.

"Hey," he replied, standing up and putting his arms around me.

"You alright?" I asked, already knowing the answer to the question.

"No..."

"It's like you've been avoiding me. We haven't spoken in days."

"I didn't feel like speaking to anybody." I didn't feel like speaking to anyone either, but here I am, wondering if you're alright. Did Fred not care that I had lost people too?

"We're all going to miss him, Fred. George was a good person. He gave us a laugh, and never failed to put a smile on any of our faces. We're all going to be here for you. I'll be here for you. I love you, remember?" His expression gave nothing away. He stood there and stared at me through the mirror, like he was searching for something.

"None of you know what this is like! I've lost my twin brother. We've been together ever since we were conceived. He was my best friend! I spent every hour with him! How can you possibly be here for me when you don't get how this feels?" Fred snapped. Fred saw the look on my face and sighed. "Sorry."

"How could you say something like that? I lost my father! And Remus! And Tonks! And Dobby! And George was like a brother to me!" I could feel the tears coming, again. It felt like I could do nothing but cry these days. "How could you say that to me?"

"We've both lost people, Isabel, but I...I don't think you know what this feels like."

"I lost Sirius! I lost my father! I lost my best friends! How dare you say I don't know how this feels. I will forever know how this feels because there won't be a day that goes by when I don't think about them!" Fred went for my hand but I pushed him away. He already crossed the line.

"Fine, then, if you want to be cold towards me you can be cold, Isabel. I am out! I can't do this with you!" My face went pale as I froze.

"What?" I muttered, shocked.

"I can't do this with you. I'm out. We're over." Fred turned away from me and sat down on the bed behind him.

"You can't walk away from me!" I shouted at him, walking over to the bed, taking his hands in mine. "You promised you would never walk away from me! You promised me!"

He pulled his hands away from mine and shook his head. "And I'm breaking it now, Isabel."

"Why? Why are you breaking it now? This is the time when we need each other the most. We're Isabel and Fred. Fred and Isabel. We don't work things out on our own, we work them out together because we love each other. Don't you dare leave me now!"

"It's just not working like it's supposed to be."

"And whose fault is that? I'm not the one saying that no one else knows what it feels like. You know I know! I want to be here, I want to help you! I want to help the man I love. At the end of the day, all we have is each other. I am not prepared to lose you just because you cannot handle losing your brother. It may seem like the end of the world now, but - "

"Nothing will ever make this better!" Fred shouted at me, standing over me. My breath trembled as I stared up at him. This was not the same man that I fell in love with at first. "Just leave Isabel!" He shouted at me. As the tears began to fall from my eyes, I ran out of the room and down the stairs. Ginny saw me and called my name to try and stop me. I didn't stop, I just ran out of the house and slammed the door behind me.

* * *

I apparated home and ran in the door. Everything was a blur...it all happened so fast. One second we were together, and the next we were apart. A shocked Andromeda stared at me as I ran up the stairs and into my room. I slammed the door and collapsed on my bed, crying. How could he do this to me? I wanted to be there for Fred and all he did was break up with me. I couldn't lose another man I loved. I'd lost so much, I couldn't lose him as well. There was one knock at the door, and in came Andromeda, who had Teddy in her arms.

"Isabel, my dear, what on earth is wrong?" She sat next to me on the bed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Isabel, please."

"It's Fred. He...he broke up with me..."

"What?"

"I was trying to be there for him, and he said that losing George was different to who I lost, and he called me cold...and he told me to leave." I shook my head, sat up and wiped the tears off my face. "I don't know what I've done wrong, Andie."

"He's just in a bad spot...he'll come around..."

"I can't lose him, Andie," I cried, "I just can't."

* * *

I walked down the grassy hill towards the Black Lake. As I got closer and closer, I realised someone else was standing at Father's grave, talking to the headstone. When the person turned around, I decided that I needed to leave.

"Oh, I'll just..." I stared at Lucius, trying not to remember everything he had done to me.

"Wait, Isabel," he said, stopping me in my tracks. He sounded so broken, and for the first time, when I looked at him, I could see an honest man who was stuck. I walked back over to Father's grave and sat down next to Lucius. I was no longer afraid of him, he had no reason to hurt me anymore.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I'm here everyday," Lucius said, sighing. Lucius was here everyday and I wasn't, that said something about his character. "Your father was the closest thing I ever had to a best friend. He was one of the only ones to ever really bring out the true side of me, the one that cared. Your father was everything I wished I was. A real man, for starters. He did something I wasn't able to do..."

"What is that?"

"Protect his family." Lucius' eyes told the whole story. He knew what he had done was wrong. He knew that the Malfoy name had been tarnished because of him. "Why are you so upset?" He asked, obviously noticing my eyes. "What a silly question to ask, you're sitting at your fathers grave and I'm asking why you're upset. I'm - "

"My boyfriend broke up with me."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Seems stupid to be crying over that considering all that's happened, but it's just really the final thing to ruin my whole life. My father is gone, my best friends are gone...everything is just gone."

"Your freedom isn't." "Isabel, I am so sorry for what I did to you all those years ago. I don't think I could have acted any worse towards you. I just want you to know how sorry I am." Lucius laughed quietly. "Me...sorry. It's funny, isn't it? How guilt is able to overtake you? Although, I would say you would not have much to be guilty about."

"Oh, we all do," I said to him. "We all have terrible guilt built up somewhere."

"Can I ask...what about?" It was a shock for me to hear that Lucius wanted to listen, but I wasn't going to just stop talking to him and leave him alone. Lucius could be saved, and he could be changed. He wasn't too far gone.

"I cheated on Sirius Black with Remus Lupin." It went cold at Remus' name, remembering his dead body in my arms. "It was possibly the single greatest mistake I ever made. And then Father...I can't believe he's gone, Lucius, and I didn't even get to spend any time with him at all. I spent the last few days of his life hating him. That's my guilt, Lucius. Loathing my Father until the point of his Death." I looked down at the headstone. I just wished he were still here...perhaps things would be better.

"You couldn't have done anything. No one saw it coming, how were we supposed to know the Dark Lord would kill him?" He wasn't supposed to die...that was the saddest part. I stood up and patted down my clothes.

"I should be going." I turned to leave before pausing. I owed it to Lucius to tell him. "Lucius?"

"Yes, Isabel?"

"Thank you. For stopping Dolohov from raping me, and for letting Narcissa help me escape. I'm standing here now because you and your wife risked your lives for me." Lucius looked shocked, like no one had ever thanked him in his entire life. "And I've decided to stand as witness for you, Draco and Narcissa at your trial. I'm going to ask for you to be cleared of all charges, Lucius."

"What? Really? I can't ask you to - "

"You don't have to ask, Lucius," I told him. "You saved my life...that doesn't excuse the things you have done wrong, but you've realised what you've done wrong and you changed that. You don't deserve to go to Azkaban, though so many people want you to end up in there. I'll try my hardest to keep you out of there." I turned on my heel and left, leaving Lucius by himself at my father's grave.

* * *

I returned home again and made my way into the kitchen. Andie was in the middle of cooking. Teddy must have been upstairs, asleep. Andie took one look up at me, then went back to cooking. I didn't tell her where I was going...she must have been worried, and now she was angry with me. It was something I just had to deal with.

"Where were you?" Andie asked, chopping up the vegetables on the bench in front of her.

"I went to Daddy's grave," I told her. "I'm sorry, I should have told you first. I know you're worried about me."

"I just don't want to have to go through a repeat of what happened when Sirius died. You seem too in control of everything." I wasn't in control at all, in fact, I could feel that I was just about to fall apart. I didn't want to tell Andie, she had enough on her plate.

"I'm trying to manage," I told her. A cry sounded out around the house - Teddy was awake. "I've got him," I told Andie, leaving the kitchen to go and retrieve my crying godson.

* * *

**A/N: I just wanted to take this author's note to send a prayer to Boston after the tragedy that has happened in their city.  
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**Wow, over 850 reviews already and we just got past 800! I have the best readers, I really do.**

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**Next Chapter:  
**"Fred isn't! He broke up with me, remember? Sirius is dead. Dobby is dead. Dumbledore is dead. George is dead. Ted is dead. Dora is dead. Remus is dead. Father is dead. They are all dead, and they are never coming back." I picked up a picture frame. Inside the picture was Tonks and I. I picked up a second frame, the picture was of Remus and I. I stared at them, and then threw the first one against the wall, glass shattering everywhere. "I don't even want this fucking picture anymore," I screamed. "What do I need them for? They're never coming back, a fucking picture won't change anything!" I took out my wand and pointed it at the pictures on the floor. "Incendio!"


	116. Never Would I Do That

**Thanks to: TheDiva121, HPFan, Alice Watson (times 2), Guest, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, Anonymous, rosiehorgan7, Narnia and Harry Potter 4EVER, Robz Robby, CookieSpells4, Potterhorse-Spirit, Ruvian and IcyRose66 for your reviews.  
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_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Andromeda's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Teddy's Theme [See Tumblr]  
All Kids Go by Gemma Hayes  
The End's Not Near by Band of Horses**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I had lost everything.

Sirius, dead.

Dumbledore, dead.

Ted, dead.

Dobby, dead.

George, dead.

Tonks, dead.

Remus, dead

Daddy, dead.

And then on top of that, Fred was gone. I had not seen him, or heard from him, since we broke up. I brought the bottle of whiskey to my lips. I hadn't tasted this ever since I had gotten over Sirius' death. But things were different now. Everyone was gone, not just Sirius.

"Isabel." I turned to see Andromeda, standing in the doorway.

"Where's Teddy?" I asked before taking a large sip of whiskey.

"With Apolline, Fleur and Gabrielle downstairs. Your sisters want to see you, as does your godson."

"Yes, well, Mother, Fleur and Gabrielle can come back another day."

"You're not shutting us out again, Isabel," Andie said sternly, folding her arms. "We lost you after Sirius died. No one knew who you were anymore. I am not losing you again."

"Because it's such a tragedy for everyone that I want to escape from everything? Andie, you've been through a lot over this war, and I know that you desperately want to mourn alongside me, but I've had enough! Everyone is dead! Everyone I cared about, gone."

"Your sisters, your Mother, your godson, the Weasley family, Fred and me, we're still here!"

"Fred isn't! He broke up with me, remember? Sirius is dead. Dobby is dead. Dumbledore is dead. George is dead. Ted is dead. Dora is dead. Remus is dead. Father is dead. They are all dead, and they are never coming back." I picked up a picture frame. Inside the picture was Tonks and I. I picked up a second frame, the picture was of Remus and I. I stared at them, and then threw the first one against the wall, glass shattering everywhere. "I don't even want this fucking picture anymore," I screamed. "What do I need them for? They're never coming back, a fucking picture won't change anything!" I took out my wand and pointed it at the pictures on the floor. "Incendio!"

"Isabel, stop it, you're scaring me!" I threw every single memory of every single person that had died onto the floor. One by one, it piled up on the floor. I pointed my wand at the pile, breathing in and out rapidly. Everything was too much, everything was a reminder! If it was gone, the reminders were gone. I raised my wand, ready to burn it all, until something caught my eye. I leaned down and picked it out of the pile.

A small, copper, jewelry box.

"This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath, may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet," I whispered, looking at the box. I closed my eyes, remembering the Christmas at Twelve Grimmauld Place in which Remus had given me this box. I fell to my knees, holding my chest as the tears came once again. "I'm sorry," I whispered. I felt two hands on my shoulders. Andie knelt beside me, kissing me on the head. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

I held Teddy in my arms, rocking him back and forth whilst I hummed quietly. I wanted to keep him calm. Andie and I had no idea what we were going to do with him yet. Who was going to look after him? Who was going to be the one that was going to take Tonks' place as his mother? Andie was his grandmother, but I was his godmother. I felt some sort of responsibility for him, and a part of me wanted to take care of him.

"If only you knew," I whispered to Teddy. He was sleeping so peacefully, it made me thankful that he was only a few weeks old when Remus and Tonks died. It was cruel, but at least they weren't snatched away from him. At least he didn't really know what had happened to them.

"Hello, darling," Andie said quietly, walking into the small nursery. "You're such a natural with him."

"He's really growing on me," I replied, smiling down at him. A smile appeared on his tiny face as his hair changed to a bright blue. Andie and I both giggled quietly. He was the light of our world right now. He was the one that was making living worth it.

* * *

There was a knock at the front door of the house, and I was reluctant to open it. Nobody else was here. Andie, Teddy, Mother, Fleur and Gabrielle were all at the Burrow, sharing dinner. I couldn't go, not with Fred there. After a second, more desperate sounding knock, I got up and went to open the door. Standing behind it, was the very man I was thinking about moments ago. We stared at each other for a few moments, taking each other in. It had felt like a year since I had seen him last.

"Fred," I said, still a little shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" He asked. After a few moments of continuing to stare at him in silence, I nodded.

"Of course." I let Fred in the house and closed the door behind me. What was he going to say now, that he was moving away and never wanted to see me again? As if him breaking up with me could get any worse.

"I don't really know what to say to you, Isabel," he said. This was getting off to a great start. "Things have been nothing less than difficult for me since Georgie died. I've never had to live a day without him in my whole life, and now, he's no longer here. I lost myself, Isabel, and that day when I took it out on you...I was a complete joke. I should have never said those things to you." So he was here for an apology? It was more than a few days overdue.

"I'm not going to lie and say it didn't hurt," I told him, folding my arms.

Fred tucked my hair behind my ear and pursed his lips. "I was so out of line. You lost your father, too. I should have never said those things." How could I resist those eyes? I rested my head on his chest and smiled. I missed this...I missed his smell...his warmth...his eyes...everything about him.

"You know I love you," Fred said, looking down at me, a smile appearing on his face.

"I love you," I replied, leaning up to kiss him. Moments later, his hands were fiddling with the bottom of my shirt, and Fred and I somehow ended up in my bedroom, our hands all over each other. It had felt like years since he had touched my skin like this, setting it on fire as he used to. I pulled him back onto the bed, my hand running through his hair as he pressed his lips to my neck.

"Wait...stop," I said, pushing him off me. Fred was so surprised by this that he fell off the bed and onto the floor.

"What?"

"Everyone has died, and we're here doing this?" Fred climbed back up and kissed my cheek.

"You're right, as always," he said with a small smile. "I guess I just missed you."

"Let's go to the Burrow," I told him, taking his hand. "Our family is there. It's time we joined them."

* * *

Fred and I walked through the front door of the Burrow, hand in hand, smiles on our faces. Andie sat at the table, holding Teddy. Beside her was Molly and Arthur, then Fleur and Bill. Charlie, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Gabrielle, Mother, Percy and surprisingly, Minerva all sat around, laughing. Each one of them had a smile on their face...in this tough, hard time. Molly looked up from her food to see Fred and I walk in, then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness!" She cried, practically running over to Fred and I. She grabbed the cheeks of her son and kissed them. "You did the right thing, Fred." So Molly had talked to him about coming to forgive me? I should have known. She was desperate to keep me with her son. Molly then grabbed my cheeks and kissed them, just like she had done to Fred. "I'm so glad you two have sorted everything out!" I simply smiled, then made my way over to Andie. Teddy was in her arms, fast sleep. I took him from her, and as soon as he was snuggled in my arms, he smiled.

"He definitely is very comfortable with you, Isabel," Arthur said, smiling at the baby in my arms. "Have you thought about what you two are going to do, with living arrangements for Teddy and such?"

"Not yet," I told Arthur, kissing the head of the baby in my arms. "It's too soon."

"Isabel, can I 'old 'im?" Gabrielle asked, appearing behind me.

"Of course," I said, smiling. Gabrielle sat down in the seat next to me as I passed Teddy over to her. Gabrielle beamed from ear to ear as she stared down at the baby in her arms. I looked over to the other side of the room to see Harry, calling me over to him. "Hang on, I won't be long." I followed Harry out the front door of the Burrow. He looked serious. What had happened?

"Isabel, I have something important to discuss with you," Harry said, putting his hands in his pockets. "And I don't know how to tell you. It's a bit of a difficult subject to speak about. But you need to promise me, what I tell you, you keep a secret." I didn't like keeping secrets, and I didn't know what to think of all this mysterious behaviour.

"I'll keep it a secret, Harry. Just tell me."

"I spoke to Sirius," he said bluntly.

"Don't be stupid, Harry. Sirius is dead," I replied, folding my arms. I refused to believe he spoke to my dead fiancé.

"It's true. I know, it sounds absolutely mental, but believe me Isabel. Why would I have a reason to lie to you about something such as this? I spoke to him with the Resurrection Stone. In the Forbidden Forest, just before I handed myself to Voldemort. I also spoke to my parents. And Remus." He spoke to Sirius. And Remus. I wasn't sure how to feel.

"What did they say? Sirius and Remus?" I asked him, raising my eyebrows.

"That they were both very sorry, Sirius especially. Remus wants you to look after Teddy. He wants you to take him in and raise him as your own." These words really hit home. Remus wanted me to take his son in. I didn't know if I was capable enough. Harry put his hand on my arm, realising that I was getting upset.

"Did you keep the stone?" I asked him, looking up at him. I knew it was a long shot, but maybe, just maybe, this could be the one last chance to talk to the people I loved that had left my life.

"Even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you, Isabel," Harry sighed. "And you know it."

"Why? Why not?"

"Because it would drive you mad, that's why! All you'd want is for them to come back to you. You don't know death like I do, Isabel, and you can debate it all you want, but it is a fact. What if you did speak to Sirius? Or Remus? It would drive you into a hopeless longing for them to come back, which would also affect your relationship with Fred." I didn't care for the hopeless longing, and I didn't believe it either.

"I just...I want to speak to them one last time, Harry...tell them the things I was never able to say," I said, my voice breaking. I was becoming too emotional.

"I know. We all want that, but trust me Isabel when I say that it isn't worth it." I nodded at Harry, turned away and walked back inside. He was right. What if I did end up going mad over my lost loves? I couldn't risk it.

* * *

A Ministry official sat in front of me, Teddy was snuggled up in my arms, and Andie and Fred either side of me. Today was an important day. The official took out his briefcase, and then took out two pieces of parchment. I looked at the pieces of parchment and sighed. I had been hesitant about doing this, but I needed to get it out of the way.

"The Last Will and Testimony of Severus Tobias Snape, the Last Will and Testimony of Nymphadora Lupin née Tonks and Remus John Lupin," the Ministry official said. He picked up the first piece of parchment and looked to me. "The Last Will and Testimony of Severus Tobias Snape. To my dearest daughter Isabel Snape, I leave my entire life's savings to you, I leave the house at Spinner's End, I leave everything I have collected over the years for potions and I leave every valuable item I have to you. Just know that though I may never have expressed it, I love you and I am proud of the person you are." My head fell, and I bit my lip to stop the tears. Fred placed his hand on my knee and squeezed it tight.

"Miss Snape, the life savings has already been deposited into your vault at Gringotts, as have the valuable items and the key to Spinner's End. You will find the rest of your items in the household." I nodded a thanks to the Ministry official, who continued on.

"The Last Will and Testimony of Nymphadora Lupin née Tonks and Remus John Lupin. To Andromeda Tonks, we leave twenty-five percent of our life savings, and our treasured valuables. We both agree that you will take the best care of them. To Ted Lupin, we leave seventy-five percent of our life savings. We know you will make us proud. To Isabel Snape, we leave Remus' cottage house, in hope that when Teddy is seventeen, you will pass it onto him. And we leave Isabel Snape the sole custodian of our son Ted Lupin, with Andromeda Tonks to be the second custodian if Isabel Snape is unable to fulfill her duty." The Ministry official placed the piece of parchment down and looked at the baby in my arms.

"Now, this is a tricky situation. We need to know, Miss Snape, fi you are capable of looking after the child, or if Mrs. Tonks, you object to her taking custody of the child. If you do take him Miss Snape, you have the option of either signing a legal guardian form, or adoption papers." I looked to Fred, who had lost the colour in his face, then looked to Andie, who seemed as shocked as Fred was. I don't think Fred was prepared for a baby to enter our lives.

"Isabel, this is your call," Andie said. "Remus and Dora wanted you to take Teddy. It is all up to you." I stared down at the baby in my arms. He was the most gorgeous baby I had ever seen, and we had already developed a special connection. Having him in my arms felt natural for me, did I need any more of a sign? I looked up at the Ministry official and smiled.

"I will take full custody of him, however, I need time to think about which forms to sign," I told him. The official nodded and shut his briefcase.

"Of course, I understand. Please, contact me at the Ministry when you have decided what path to take." He picked up the briefcase and left the house. I looked to Fred, who was still as pale as a ghost.

"Are you okay, honey?" I asked him, kissing him on the cheek.

"Just a little shocked..."

"Isabel, can I be honest with you?" Andie said. I was preparing myself for a harsh truth, for her to tell me I was not fit to raise a child. "Adopt Teddy." I was taken back by how forward she was. "You two already have this connection, and he's going to need a mother. You fit the role of his Mother perfectly already. Remus and Dora wanted this. They wanted you to be Teddy's mother." I kissed Teddy's head and rocked him back and forth. I would need to think a little more before making what was perhaps the biggest decision of my life.

* * *

**A/N: Did you enjoy that chapter? 4 more chapters to go! Even I'm getting a little emotional!**

14 reviews last chapter, wow! Keep it up!  


**Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter:  
**The night was crisp, but not cold. The stars lit the sky beautifully, and the moon hit the Black Lake, making it one of the only shining things in a dark night. Fred and I stood on the quiet bridge, facing out to the grounds. He had both arms around me, holding me close to him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I said softly, my eyes darting from the sky, to the forest, to the Black Lake. I loved everything about this place. Hogwarts would always have a special place inside my heart. I was surprised they were able to prepare this part of the castle so quickly after how destroyed it was during the Battle. I looked up and saw Fred nod in agreement with my statement.


	117. Victory Ball

**Thanks to: CookieSpells4, Potterhorse-Spirit, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, rosiehorgan7, MiraclesHappen94, Harry Potter and Narnia 4EVER, Alice Watson (times 6), IcyRose66, Robz Robby, TheDiva121 and Guest for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel and Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
I Can't Come Down by Embrace  
Last Kiss by Trent Dabbs  
All I Need by Within Temptation  
Hold My Eyes by David O'Dowda  
Magic Works by Jarvis Cocker [The Weird Sisters]  
**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

Sitting in the chair in front of my dressing table, I went over every excuse I had to get out of this tonight. People from all over the Wizarding community had been looking forward to this. The Victory Ball. Apparently it was a way to celebrate the lives of the people we had lost during the war. I didn't see anything worth celebrating. Why would we celebrate the fact that people we loved were now dead? After the Battle of Hogwarts had finished, I couldn't stand seeing people jump up and down for joy. It hurt too much. I had lost my two best friends, my boyfriend's twin brother, and my father. I glanced into my mirror, looking into the dark eyes. They were so familiar. What I would give to just see them one more time and say goodbye properly. In the corner of the room, I could see a dark figure. I cocked my head slightly to the side and realised who was there.

"Minerva, what are you doing here?" I asked, surprised to see her standing in my doorway.

"To help you get ready, my child. What on earth are you doing sitting here all alone? You should be getting ready for the ball tonight!" She walked over towards me and placed her hands on my shoulders, waiting for an answer to come from me. She wasn't going to like the one I was about to give her.

"I'm not going," I replied coldly. Minerva crossed her arms, turned me around and glared at me. Minerva could be quite scary when she was angry.

"What do you mean you aren't going? Everyone important is going. You are one of those important people, Isabel. The Wizarding community wants to celebrate you and award you for all you have achieved in this war and what you have done for them! Besides, everyone expects you to be there! Have you even told Mr Weasley that you aren't accompanying him?" Minerva made so many good points. It was going to be hard to argue against her. I wasn't going down without a fight though.

"I'll tell Fred that I'm not going when he gets here," I replied, shrugging. I was sure Fred wouldn't mind. He isn't one to be fussed over these sorts of things. "As for everyone expecting me to be there, that's their fault for building their expectations."

"Why are you being like this?"

"Minerva, I don't want to go to and celebrate the death of Voldemort when my father, my boyfriend's brother and my two best friends died along with him!" I snapped. I stepped back and took a deep breath. "I apologise. I'm just a little on edge right now."

"It's understandable, dear. We're all a little on edge at the moment. We're all still recovering."

"I brought something with me," Minerva said. "I think it'd be perfect for this evening. It's something that I took from your wardrobe a while ago. I was afraid that something might happen to it, so I put it away for safe keeping." Minerva laid the dress she was holding on my bed. I couldn't work out where I had seen it before. It was so familiar.

"Do you know where this is from and who bought it for you?"

"I know it was someone important," I said, touching the fabric of the dress. It felt different to other dresses, like it was a whole lot more special. "I feel guilty for not remembering who."

"Your father, Isabel." I was crushed. How could I forget that he gave me this dress? How could I forget anything about Father?

"I'll leave you to prepare yourself, but I will be back to take you at half past five this evening."

* * *

I stared at myself in the mirror. My hair, make up and dress were immaculate, but I felt like something was missing inside. Perhaps it was the huge gaping hole that Tonks, Remus and Father had left after they died. I slipped the thestral necklace that Father had bought for me years ago around my neck. I wanted to show that I was together, and that I was okay...sure, it'd be a lie, but if I looked the part, who would know? There was a knock on the door. I looked up at the clock. It was time to leave. I opened the door to see Minerva, dressed in her best dress robes.

"You look stunning, my child," Minerva said, taking in my dress. "Now, come along. We have many things to discuss on our small trip. She took my arm in hers and led me down the stairs and out the front door.

"Wait, where is Andie and - "

"Andie is already at the ball, Teddy is inside with your mother and Gabrielle, now come along." Minerva held me tight, and suddenly, we disapparated. I opened my eyes, feeling a little queazy, but I realised that we were now in Hogsmeade. Minerva looked over to me and nodded. "Good, everything is still intact. Now come, we're in a hurry!" Minerva pulled me along to a horse and carriage waiting for us. I got in and sat down, patting down my dress.

"Can you tell me why we're in such a hurry?" I asked. "We're early!"

"Because I need to explain something. Now, when we get to the ball, you will be announced to the crowd, and along with your name, they will announce the war medal you will be receiving." War medal? Nobody told me about receiving any type of war medal! I didn't think that I would receive any such honour. I didn't think that I deserved it. "You seem surprised, my child."

"Yes, I am surprised. I just don't think that a war medal is - "

"You may object to it," Minerva interrupted, holding her hand up, "however you do deserve it. You were the one that killed Bellatrix Lestrange, and you saved countless students during the war. You do deserve it." I sighed. A war medal wasn't going to change anything.

* * *

We arrived at Hogwarts. Lights lit up the courtyard as a carpet led into the Great Hall. I had never seen such elegance. Minerva and I stepped out of the carriage as photographers frantically took photographs for different Wizarding newspapers. They followed me with the camera, begging me to stop and pose for them. I stopped for a few moments, keeping a neutral expression on my face. Perhaps if I stopped and let them get their photos, they would stop following me. After a few moments, I continued down the carpet, but they continued taking their photos. I walked quickly through the huge doors, then made my way into the Great Hall.

"Miss. Snape," I turned to my right to see someone holding my arm. "Please wait here for a few moments. When we announce you, you can walk into the hall." I nodded back at the man. I didn't know what to say, I was so confused. I could hear the murmur in the hall as people stopped their talking and looked towards the doors where I was standing.

"Isabel Snape, Order of Merlin, First Class. Awarded for her courage against the Death Eaters, and destroying Bellatrix Lestrange." Applause went up as I walked into the room. The man I had talked to before placed the medal around my neck and pushed me on. It seemed like most of the Wizarding population of Britain was here. The Hall was packed with people that I had never seen before. They screamed at me, professing their love for me, professing their gratitude. Why was I being treated like this? Why was I some sort of war hero to them? I quickly walked over to Fred, Bill, Fleur and Charlie, my eyes wide.

"What's going on?" I asked them. Bill shrugged, looking down at my medal. "Did you get one?" I asked them. Bill, Fleur and Fred nodded.

"Order of Merlin, Third Class," Bill said. "Same as Fleur and Fred. We might have got a first class if we had killed one of those important Death Eaters like you."

"Has anyone else been awarded a first class?" I asked.

"Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville Longbottom, Dad, Professor McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt all were awarded first class," Charlie replied. Neville Longbottom? Well, he definitely did deserve it. His bravery was unquestioned.

"Come, let's sit," Fleur said, patting the seat next to her.

* * *

"Miss Snape," I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned to see Fred standing there, smiling at me, holding his hand out. "Will you do me the honour of dancing with me?"

"Of course I will, Mr Weasley," I replied, standing up and taking his hand. He lead me out onto the floor and took my waist. My hand moved up to his shoulder as I smiled up at him. As the music began to play, we began to move to the music slowly. The other couples around us copied the our same movements - a traditional dance in the Wizarding World.

"Do you know what this reminds me of?" Fred asked me. I shook my head.

"No, I don't."

"It reminds me of the Yule Ball. You looked stunning then and you look stunning tonight." I felt my cheeks go red. We had been together for so long and he still made me blush.

"Thank you," I told him with a gracious nod.

"You know...the Yule Ball was the night I fell in love with you." I stopped dancing and looked up at him in surprise. He was in his sixth year at the time and I was in my second year of teaching. I was completely shocked that he had felt this way for me for so long.

"Really?"

"When you were in my arms, and I was taking you back to your office, I looked down at the sleeping girl in my arms and realised that I loved you." Fred continued to move us around and laughed to himself. "It's a little cheesy, isn't it?"

"It's very cute," I told him, leaning up to kiss his cheek as the dance finished. "And proof that I know that you truly do love me."

"Well, I hate to break up this nice moment between you to but I am requesting a dance from Miss Snape," a voice said from behind us. I turned to see Arthur, his hand in front of him. I smiled and took his hand. Arthur had been a father figure for me during this war, I couldn't deny him a dance. "I'm just warning you, I'm not a great dancer," Arthur said with a laugh.

"It's okay," I told him, "neither am I!"

"Thank you," he told me as we danced around the Great Hall.

"What for?"

"For sticking by Fred. I know that you two had a little bit of a rough patch after the Battle, but I don't think he would have come out of it the way he has if you weren't with him." Listening to Arthur's words were alarming for me. What if I hadn't been with him? What if I did walk away? I was afraid that Fred wouldn't be here either. The music finished. Arthur stepped away with a smile and walked back towards where Molly was sitting. I was glad to have a family like the Weasley's in my life. Where would I be without them?

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen." At the front of a hall, Kingsley stepped onto a platform and held his wand close to his mouth. "Witches and Wizards, please be seated." People hurriedly moved off the dance floor and to their tables as Kingsley Shacklebolt looked down at all of us, a rare smile on his face. "Welcome my friends, to the Victory Ball." The crowd applaused, all fixed on Shacklebolt. "Tonight is the night in which we celebrate the individual efforts of members of our society to defeat the Death Eaters, and tonight is the night in which we celebrate our freedom. So if we could perhaps just take five minutes of your attention to read out the names of the witches and wizards who contributed most to the war." Kingsley stepped back off the platform as Minerva took his place.

"Order of Merlin, First Class recipients: Harry Potter." A cheer went up for Harry, the Boy Who Lived, and the boy who saved us all. "Harry Potter is the reason we are all here today. He has more courage than most of us put together...a truly special person in our lives."

"Hermione Granger."

"Ronald Weasley."

"Neville Longbottom."

"Isabel Snape." I rose from my seat as the crowd applauded. I even took a small bow. I guess being awarded a medal wasn't so bad...even if you thought you didn't deserve it.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Arthur Weasley."

"Minerva McGonagall."

Each of them rose from their seats, just as I did, to acknowledge the applause and thanks that were given to them by the Wizarding community. I was glad that they really appreciated the work that we went to, to keep them safe - most of them wouldn't have a clue what happened at the Battle of Hogwarts that night. I was somewhat happy that they were not there, though. No one should have to see the horrors that we saw and endured that night.

* * *

The night was crisp, but not cold. The stars lit the sky beautifully, and the moon hit the Black Lake, making it one of the only shining things in a dark night. Fred and I stood on the quiet bridge, facing out to the grounds. He had both arms around me, holding me close to him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I said softly, my eyes darting from the sky, to the forest, to the Black Lake. I loved everything about this place. Hogwarts would always have a special place inside my heart. I was surprised they were able to prepare this part of the castle so quickly after how destroyed it was during the Battle. I looked up and saw Fred nod in agreement with my statement.

"It is beautiful. Absolutely stunning. A bit like you, in that sense." I laughed quietly at him, he always knew how to make me feel special. I leaned my head on his shoulder and shut my eyes. "I love you, Isabel," he whispered before kissing my head.

"I love you, too," I whispered back.

"You do know how I am simply crazy for you?" Fred asked. I lifted my head from his shoulders, and he took my hands. Where was he going with this? "Every day I become even more crazy about you. We have something here, a connection. It's a connection that nobody else will ever have. I look at you, and it's like being in heaven. It's an eternal sunshine, and my day will never be cloudy if you are by my side. I want to be with you forever. There is nothing else in this world I would rather have."

"Fred..." He stood up, then held my hands as he helped me up. I knew what was happening, but I couldn't say anything more than his name. Before I knew it, he was down on one knee.

"What I'm trying to say here is...I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and only you. You are just this beacon of light that has come into my world to light my way and help me along my path. I could never imagine living a day without you." He took out a small, black velvet box from his coat and opened it. A simple silver ring with one diamond in the middle sat in the case. I threw my hands over my mouth to stop myself from squealing. "Isabel...marry me." I stood in shock. I didn't expect this tonight, or ever. My shocked expression grew into a beaming smile.

"Yes," I whispered, nodding and smiling. "Yes, I will marry you!" I threw my arms around Fred so he fell backwards.

"I have one more thing I want to say," Fred said, taking my hands and standing us both up slowly.

"Yes?"

"I want us to adopt Teddy." I was speechless. Fred just proposed to me...and now he wants to adopt Teddy? Did he suddenly just become mature overnight?

"Are you serious?" I said, surprise filling my voice. I couldn't believe it. Everything was just falling in to place without me having to do a thing! Fred nodded and smiled.

"I'm one hundred percent serious...for the first time in my life." I giggled. He always managed to inject humour into any situation so effortlessly. "Lupin and Tonks wanted you to take him in, and I see the bond you two have. He's going to need a mother, and if you and Andromeda take turns, it's not stable for him. He needs a place he can call home, and I'm willing for that place to be with us." I rested my forehead on his as tears ran down my cheeks. "Hey, hey, hey," Fred whispered, placing his hands on my cheeks, tilting my head up towards his. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm crying because I'm so happy," I told him with a slight laugh. I had never been so overjoyed in my life. It seemed that in only a few minutes I had gained a family that would be with me forever. I was the luckiest woman in the world. Fred took my hand and led me back inside.

"We have to share the news with everyone," Fred told me with a smile. I could tell that he couldn't wait to see Molly and tell her.

* * *

Couples danced as the music played sweetly in the background. Fred was pulling over his family members around the table closest to us. Molly, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Harry, Andie and Minerva stood around the table, each of them as confused as the next as to why Fred and I had dragged them over here. Ron seemed the most annoyed, as Fred had dragged him away from his dessert which was sitting at the table next to us.

"So, Fred, tell us, what's going on?" Charlie said, folding his arms. Fred took my hand, squeezed it, then looked back to our family and friends.

"Isabel and I are getting married." Molly, Fleur and Ginny all squealed, each embracing me at the same time. It felt like they were squeezing me to death. When they realised that they were squashing me, they let me go and laughed.

"Félicitations, darling," Fleur said, kissing both my cheeks. "I am so 'appy for you!" I was smiling from ear to ear. I was so overjoyed and happy.

"Congratulations, mate," Bill said, shaking his brothers hand before bringing him in for a hug. Molly then grabbed Fred's cheeks, a tear falling onto her cheek.

"George would be so proud of you, Fred," she said softly, then kissing her son's cheek. "Congratulations."

"We have one more thing we need to announce," Fred told everyone once Molly had sat down to wipe the tears off her cheek. "Isabel, would you like to tell them?" I stepped in front of him and smiled.

"We've decided to adopt Teddy," I told them. I looked at Andie, who was beaming. We had her blessing.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Arthur asked us. "Taking on a child is a big commitment." Fred and I looked to each other, then turned back to our family and friends and nodded.

"We're ready."

Fred and I spent the rest of the night dancing, eating and drinking, surrounded by our family and friends. It was practically our engagement party. Everyone had died, but from their deaths came something strong - a bond. There was a bond between the survivors of the war, the survivors in our families, and the survivors in the Order. Together we defeated a force which did not know love, and that was their downfall. I walked back outside and looked to the starry sky. I could feel those that I had lost, Tonks, Dobby, Ted, Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus and Father, right here with me. I knew they were proud. And although they might not be physically with me, I'd never be alone.

* * *

**A/N: So, this was really the closing chapter on the war. And now, we look to the future...  
Three left to go. I'm actually getting really sad. I love this story so much, and I know authors aren't supposed to be attached to their work, but I am quite attached to this story and I'm so happy I got you brilliant readers along with it.**

Tumblr:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com  


**Next Chapter:  
**"It's my wedding day!" I squealed excitedly. Fleur, who had already been through this experience, was laughing and hugging me tightly. Our dream from when we were just small girls had finally come true. She was married, and now I was to be married.


	118. The Wedding

**Thanks to: HPFan, Guest, Ruvian, Robz Robby, Narnia and Harry Potter 4EVER, Potterhorse-Spirit, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, rosiehorgan7, CookieSpells4 and MiraclesHappen94 for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Lovers in Japan by Coldplay  
Holding on and Letting Go by Ross Copperman  
My Happiness by Powderfinger [walking down the aisle]  
Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran  
Kissing You by Des'ree  
Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

**Christmas Eve, 1999**

I woke up to the sun streaming into my guest room at Hogwarts. I preferred this room to my old office in the dungeons. I hated it. I hated the darkness...not being able to see the sun. I then realised what day it was. I jumped out of bed as quickly as I could. I had been waiting for this day for so long and it was finally here! I froze when I saw that Mother, Andromeda, Molly, Minerva, Hermione, Fleur, Gabrielle and Ginny were all standing in the corner my room, smiling. How did they get in here without me noticing? I didn't care, though. Today was the day I would be married! I ran into the waiting arms of my sister, Fleur.

"It's my wedding day!" I squealed excitedly. Fleur, who had already been through this experience, was laughing and hugging me tightly. Our dream from when we were just small girls had finally come true. She was married, and now I was to be married.

"This eez going to be fantastic," Fleur said. "I 'ave imagined this day for ages! You will look radiant, Isabel."

"Oh, you two, come on now! Fleur, we don't want to be making Isabel cry!" Molly exclaimed before laughing.

"Too late," I said, wiping a tear from my eye. After Fleur let go of me, Andromeda wrapped her arms around me afterwards.

"This day will be absolutely perfect," she whispered in my ear. "You deserve nothing less." I held Andromeda tightly. I wouldn't have been here if it were not for her. She had changed me, and saved me, in a way that no one else had. I was a very lucky girl to have such a person that cared about me so much. She had taken me into her home, rehabilitated me, and then supported me again once I lost all my loved ones, even though she lost hers too. Narcissa, Teddy and I were all Andromeda had left. Narcissa and Andie had made contact a few months after the war, realising that they needed each other. Now, they had gone back to being sisters. I was so glad, as Andromeda needed nothing more than family surrounding her. Andromeda let go, and I was hugged by Mother, Hermione, Gabrielle and Ginny. Minerva, not being the one for public displays of affection, patted my shoulder a few times.

"Gosh, I just love weddings!" Molly said. "They're always just such lovely days!"

* * *

Hermione, Ginny and Fleur sat me down in front of the white wooden dressing table. I stared at myself in the mirror. I wondered how they were going to make me into a bride. This was the downside of letting other people organise your weddings - you didn't know what they were going to do. The only things I had input in were the venue, the food, the music and the bridesmaids and wedding dresses. Hermione and Ginny both picked up hair brushes from the dressing table, whilst Fleur took out her wand, ready to style my hair into wedding perfection. As I stared at myself in the mirror, I felt increasingly nervous. What if I were too damaged for Fred? Was this even a good thing for me to be marrying him? Was it smart? Was it fair on him?

"Do you think I make a worthy bride?" I asked Fleur, Hermione and Ginny as they played around with my hair. I looked at their surprised expressions through the mirror. Ginny went pale the moment I asked the question.

"Why would you say such a thing?" Ginny asked, her tone full of shock. "Of course you are a worthy bride, Isabel! My brother is extremely lucky to have someone like you. Don't tell me you want to back out now. Even the suggestion of backing out, on the day you're to be married makes me feel nauseous!" I laughed off Ginny's suggestion. I wanted to marry Fred Weasley. I had no second thoughts about that; I just wondered if I was too emotionally damaged for him. I wondered if I was more baggage than a wife.

"Of course I don't want to back out."

"As far as I can see, you two are in love with each other. You are both worthy of each other, and this wedding will be absolutely spectacular," Hermione said to me. I nodded and smiled at them in the mirror. They were right. I was being stupid, worrying over something silly. I was finding something so insignificant and turning into something it didn't need to be. It was my wedding day. I needed to be happy and I needed to enjoy it.

* * *

Fleur, Ginny and Hermione left me in the room on my own after finishing my hair. I ran my hand down the sides of my hair, and down the back. They had put so much detail into it. Fleur said the muggles called it a 'wedding braid,' and that it was quite popular for muggle weddings. I thought it was brilliant, and I was very proud of their work. I walked back over to my dressing table and stared at the small sapphire necklace, sitting so perfectly on the top of my jewelry box. I picked it up carefully and held it in my hand. A tear fell from my eye onto my cheek as I remembered the moment Father gave this to me. He was so proud of me at that moment. I missed my him so much. It hurt to think he wasn't going to be the one walking me down the aisle today. I looked up into the mirror to see Mother standing behind me, smiling.

"Who is that from?" Mother asked, looking down at the necklace in my hands.

"Father gave it to me. Many years ago now," I replied, wiping my tears.

"It's beautiful. It would go very well with your dress, don't you think?" Mother smiled and took the necklace from my hands. She moved behind me and placed it around my neck. It sat so perfectly, almost like it was custom made for me, and me only. Mother turned me around and placed a hand on my cheek. Her eyes were happy, but there was also something in there. It wasn't sadness. Grief, perhaps?

"Severus would be so proud of you, Isabel." I stared into the mirror. The eyes that stared back at me, my eyes, were his eyes too. When I looked into the mirror, I didn't just see my reflection, I saw him. A tear fell onto my pale cheek. I could feel Father here with me, but it wasn't enough. I wanted him to be physically by my side, walking me down the aisle. Any daughter deserved her daddy to be there on her wedding day.

"I miss him, Mother," I told her, looking down. Tears began to fall from my eyes, and no matter how hard I tried to suppress them, I just couldn't. It was not working.

"He isn't gone, Isabel. He's always going to be with you, in your heart." Mother put one finger under my chin, lifting my head up, and smiled, tears in her eyes. "He loved you so very much, Isabel. If he was here, he would comment on how extremely beautiful you look. He would be nothing but proud of the woman you are right at this very moment."

"I always pictured him walking me down the aisle, no matter who was on the end of it, waiting for me. I never thought for one moment that he wouldn't be here for my wedding. I never thought for one moment that he would be dead." I looked down once again, and tried so very hard not to cry, but the tears came back . My father was one of the biggest influences on my life. He sacrificed so much to keep myself, Harry, and the whole wizarding world safe. I wanted him to be the one to give me over to Fred today. I just wanted him to be here with me still.

"My darling, you have grown up so much," Mother said, her fingers lightly tracing my cheek. "Though I still see you as the little girl I had to give away when she was eleven. Your father would be so proud of you. He adored you, and he did everything he did to keep you safe. He was an extraordinary man, and you are so much like him. You have his loyalty...his bravery. You have all the best parts of Severus that some people, including me, were never able to see." Mother took a tissue from the dressing table and wiped the tear that had fallen down her cheek, then took another one to wipe the tears that had fallen down mine. Once she had thrown the tissues away, she clapped her hands and grinned. "Now, no more tears. Vite, vite. You need to put on your robe de mariée, mon chéri." Mother passed me the big white bag containing my wedding dress. "Madame Lemieux, our seamstress, did the perfect job with it. Just the way you wanted it," Mother told me, opening the bag to show me my dress. I gasped, putting one hand over my mouth, at the sight of my dress. It was amazing. The lace...the train...everything. It was just like those dresses Mother used to show me when I was younger. "Do you like it?"

"I love it, Mama. It's absolutely perfect!" I squealed in excitement. I grabbed the bottom and beamed. It was just the most perfect dress I had ever laid eyes on. Girls, when they were younger, would dream of their perfect wedding dresses. This was mine. "Mama, it's amazing!" I hugged her with one arm, showing my appreciation for what she had done for me. "You must thank Madame Lemieux!"

"Well, she will be at the wedding, so you can thank her yourself!" Mother told me. "Now, before we get too distracted, go and put the dress on. It's time!" She led me into the back room and helped me to put my dress on. For a wedding dress, it was surprisingly comfortable. I felt amazing in it, too. I truly felt like a princess today. Once Mother had finished tying the back of the dress up, she turned me around. Her hands went over her mouth, and tears welled in her eyes.

"You look so incredible," she choked out. "Oh, Isabel!"

"Mother, please. I don't want to cry and ruin my makeup."

"Oh, of course! I apologise! Now, come out so the rest of the girls can see just how incredible you look!" She took my arm and gripped it tightly, pulling me back out into the main room. Minerva, Fleur, Gabrielle, Andromeda, Molly, Hermione and Ginny all gasped collectively when their eyes met the dress.

"It's perfect!" Hermione said, clapping her hands. "You look absolutely radiant, Isabel!"

"And so do you girls!" I said, taking in the bridesmaid's dresses that Hermione, Ginny, Gabrielle and Fleur were wearing. They were a deep blue, the same colour as my sapphire necklace, and they looked absolutely perfect on each one of them. It was at this moment that I realised this was actually happening. In a short amount of time, I'd be walking down the aisle to marry the man of my dreams.

"May I just have a moment to myself, please?"

"Of course," Ginny said. Everyone moved out of the rooms and Ginny shut the doors quietly, leaving me on my own. I turned and looked in the mirror. I wondered if Sirius and Remus were watching down on me, happily. It was strange to think that if Sirius had died that it would not have been Fred down the other end of the aisle today. Maybe Sirius and Remus were fighting with each other up there still? All I knew is how much I loved each one of them, and how much I missed them. Then I thought of my best friend, Tonks. She was missing my wedding day. I felt so angry about how she had been taken from me so soon. All I wanted was for my best friend to be here when I walked down the aisle. And Daddy. There were no words. I couldn't describe how much I missed Father. There was a quiet knock at the door, and I was pulled out of my own little world.

"Dear," Minerva said quietly, popping her head into the room. "It's time."

* * *

The music started, and the doors of the Great Hall opened. This had been the moment I had always dreamt of, even when I was a small girl. Fleur and I had always talked of our wedding days, and now mine was here. I looked around at the Great Hall. It was beautiful. It was covered in white, silver and blue decorations, a beautiful winter wedding. It was just the way I had dreamed it looking ever since our engagement. I was hanging onto Fleur for dear life, I was scared of falling in front of all these people. I took one step forward, and then another. I closed my eyes and breathed in and out, attempting to control the nerves in my stomach. I was not doing so well though. It was so hard, walking down the aisle like this. I opened my eyes and looked up to see Fred, standing there, twiddling his thumbs. His eyes then connected with mine, and suddenly, I didn't feel nervous anymore. He was the reason I was walking down this aisle. He was the reason why I was happy. He was the reason why I survived all of this. I was walking down this aisle to marry him, and to be with him for the rest of my life.

The nerves were no longer there. As Fleur and I continued to make our way down the long aisle, my smile grew bigger and bigger. I did not care for anyone else in the room but Fred. My eyes did not stray from his once, and soon, I reached the front. Fleur kissed my cheeks and smiled, then placed my hands in Fred's. I could do nothing but smile at him. Everything was perfect, especially him. I was so lucky.

"You look beautiful," he mouthed to me. I squeezed his hands and beamed up at him.

"Witches and Wizards, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Fred Weasley and Isabel Snape. Who gives this witch to be married?" The Minister said. I looked over to the front row, where Mother, Gabrielle, Fleur and Andromeda were seated.

"We do," they each said in unison. I smiled down at them. I could not ask for a better family.

"Marriage is a bond that should not be broken. It is a bond between two people that love each other so powerfully, it is truly special. Their love is so powerful, that no one can break them. Isabel Snape and Fred Weasley share this bond, and it is my pleasure to wed them in front of all of their family and friends that are here today. We acknowledge our lost loved ones, Severus Snape, George Weasley, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, who all will be watching down from above proudly on this special moment. Now, if anyone has a reason why this witch and wizard should not be wed, let them speak now." Fred and I didn't bother looking towards out guests, we knew each one of them wanted us to be married as much as we wanted to be married to each other.

"Fred Weasley, do you take Isabel Snape to be your lawfully wedded wife according to Ministry of Magic law?"

"I do," Fred said, not taking his eyes off me. His eyes were bright, a way that I had never seen them before.

"To have and to hold?"

"I do."

"To love, respect and cherish?"

"I do."

"Through sickness and in health?"

"I do."

"Until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Isabel Snape, do you take Fred Weasley to be your lawfully wedded husband according to Ministry of Magic law?"

"I do."

"To have and to hold?"

"I do."

"To love, respect and cherish?"

"I do."

"Through sickness and in health?"

"I do."

"Until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Can we have the rings please?" The Minister asked. Ron, Fred's groomsmen walked towards us, rings in hand. Fred refused to have a best man, because he knew the only person that could do the job was George.

"Isabel Snape, when I first met you, you were not just that insanely beautiful girl who was Bill and Charlie's best friend. I was younger than you, yes, but I already had so much adoration for you and where you had come from. When I carried you back to your office after the Yule Ball, in this very hall, was when I realised that I may have feelings for you. Then, in the roughest time in your life, when I used to sing you to sleep, I realised that I loved you, and that our love was so very strong. There isn't a second that goes by where my love does not grow for you. When I look into your eyes, I feel like I am lost in you. When I touch your skin, my whole body ignites. When I kiss your lips, I know I am falling even more in love. I promise to love you and to keep you safe, for your whole life." Tears fell from my eyes and Fred slipped the wedding ring onto my finger. His words were so beautiful and strong. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, composing myself. I then looked up at Fred and smiled.

"Fred Weasley, what can I say? You saved my life. There was a moment in time where I thought maybe I was not going to make it, but you...you showed me life was worth living. When you hold me in your arms, I feel more at home then I ever have anywhere else. When you sing to me, I feel so safe, and that no one else could ever make me feel safer than you. Fred, you made me laugh again. You made me smile again. There is nothing that I could ever do that could make up for what you have given me. I love you, with every single part of my body. My whole heart is yours, forever. Life never asked me what I wanted, but life has given me the greatest gift I could ever ask for, you. I promise to love you, every second for the rest of our existence." I slipped the wedding ring onto Fred's finger and attempted to stop my tears. I was so happy at that moment...so in love.

"By the power vested in me from the Ministry of Magic, I now pronounce you, husband and wife. Fred, you may kiss your beautiful bride." Fred smiled and put his arm around my waist, then leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. The whole Great Hall erupted in applause and cheers as we continued our kiss. There had not been a happier moment in my life. I broke the kiss and turned to face the crowd. Fred put his arm around me and pulled me close to him. I looked around at everyone. Mother, Fleur, Andromeda, Gabrielle, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Ron, Ginny, Percy, Charlie, Hermione and Harry, who were all seated in the front row were jumping up and down, clapping energetically. After all these years of heartbreak and sadness, I was finally in a place where I could be completely happy, with everything in my life. I was married to the man I love. I was to be with him for the rest of my existence. There was nothing else that could make me more happy.

* * *

"Introducing the newlyweds, Isabel and Fred Weasley!" It had only been a few hours since the ceremony, but the Great Hall had been transformed again. As we walked in, I noticed the decorations were the same, but there was a stage, a dance floor, and a long elevated table for the bridal party to sit at. Circular tables filled the rest of the rooms where the guests were seated. As Fred and I walked into the room, hand in hand, music started to play and a thunderous applause ripped through the room. We sat at the elevated table - Fleur, Gabrielle, Ginny and Hermione to my right, Bill, Charlie, Ron and Harry to Fred's left. The finest elf-made wine we could find had been placed at each table for our guests to enjoy, as well as a fabulous feast set out by the kitchen elves of Hogwarts. They had been very kind to me during the whole process of preparing the wedding, telling me that Dobby always spoke very highly of me. How I missed that pure-hearted elf. Our guests continued to chat away loudly, until someone made their way on stage for the first speech of the night."

"Excuse me," Arthur said, standing on the stage with a glass of wine in his hand. "Excuse me." The room eventually quieted down, and all attention was on Arthur. "Thank you. Well, first, can I say, congratulations to my son and new daughter-in-law on their marriage. Bringing Fred up was never easy. I could go as far as to say that he and my other son George, may he rest in peace, were just horrible children. No one was ever able to catch him at all. He was very difficult. I had never seen him slow down and appreciate life, until he met Isabel. She made him realise that there were many things to appreciate apart from jokes, love being one of those things. They have both lost a lot of people in their lives, but now, they've gained each other. May I say, son, well done. Terrific catch!" Arthur turned to the crowd and winked. "The boys in this family seem to have a knack for marrying good looking women." Our guests laughed at Arthur's joke. "Isabel, welcome to the Weasley family, and I wish you both happiness for the rest of your life." The guests applauded, as Arthur sat down, and Fleur made her way to the stage.

"Bonjour to you all. My sister, Fred, félicitations, congratulations! I only 'ave a short speech to say, so I will get right to eet! We, een zis room, have all gone through tough times, but at the end of the long, dark tunnel, we 'ave a bright future, and zis wedding ees the start of the bright times! I wish Fred and Isabel a long and 'appy life together! No person deserves eet more zen you both!" The last speech for the night was from my husband. Wow, that sounded strange. _Husband._

"Good evening, and I just want to be thank you on behalf of Isabel and I. There is a lot of you here tonight, but each of you are important in one way or another to Isabel and I, so thank you. I don't want to repeat anything I said in my vows earlier, but I do want to say how lucky I am to have someone as beautiful, inside and out, as Isabel. It feels like overnight, she became my whole world. It hasn't all been smooth sailing for us, but when is it for every couple? Every day you become even stronger and more extraordinary than you were yesterday. You never fail to amaze me. Isabel, I raise my glass to us, and the years we will share ahead. I love you, and am so happy to get to call you my wife." Fred raised his glass of elf made wine, and our guests copied him. "To us."

I held up my glass and beamed up at Fred. "To us."

* * *

It was one of the very special times in a wedding, the first dance. Fred and I were both horrible dancers, but we felt like this would be the most intimate, special moment of the wedding. We would not pass up the opportunity. Fred and I strolled onto the dance floor. He pulled me close as I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his chest. The music started to play as the guests gathered a circle around us to watch our special moment.

_Pride can stand_

_A thousand Trials_

_The strong will never fall_

_But watching stars without You_

_My soul cried_

The room was silent, except for the music. At this moment, there was nothing else in the world that mattered more than Fred and I, as we danced slowly along to our song.

_Heaving hard is full of pain_

_Oh, oh, the aching_

_'Cos I'm kissing you, oh_

_I'm kissing you_

I leaned up to Fred and kissed him gently, just as the lyrics said. I was kissing him, my _husband_. Wow, that felt weird. Husband. And it felt weird hearing people call me Mrs. Weasley. I was married. But, I was happy about it. There was nothing more I wanted than to be married to Fred.

_Touch me deep_

_Pure and true_

_Gift to me forever_

_'Cos I'm kissing you, oh_

_I'm kissing you_

Some would say first dance's are cheesy, staged, sometimes worthless. My first dance with Fred was the complete opposite. I was dancing with the man I loved. He spun me around a couple of times as the strings picked up. The violin became more dramatic as he spun me around faster. As the strings came to a climax, he brought me back in and held me close, not moving anymore. I breathed in and out slowly, closing my eyes. It was the same as it was the first time he ever undid my corset strings back at my twenty-first birthday - when he touched me, my nerves were alight.

_Where are you now?_

_Where are you now?_

As the song became quiet, we swayed again to the song. My head found itself on his chest again. The moment was still perfect.

_'Cos I'm kissing you_

_I'm kissing you, oh._

As the song finished, Fred leaned down and kissed my lips ever so softly. The music finished, and our guests applauded. I smiled up at my husband. We were perfect. How did I become so lucky as to find someone as perfect as Fred for a husband? And how was I so lucky that he would fall in love with me too? Love, it was such a magnificent thing.

* * *

I spent the rest of my evening dancing around with all sorts of different people. Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Percy and Ron all got their dance with their new daughter/sister-in-law, and a few other people had the not so lucky opportunity to dance with me. Harry, Oliver Wood, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Neville Longbottom all somehow thought it would be fun to dance with me. At the end, I was sure they regretted their decision. There were two people that I were desperate to dance with, though. But, it was impossible. First, was Father. I had always dreamed of dancing with my father on my wedding day. It was tradition. Second, was Remus. I had danced with him countless times before his death, but dancing with him on a special occasion like today would have been much different. I missed him so much.

Moving on from my thoughts, I noticed that it was almost time to leave. Fred and I were off to explore the world on our honeymoon. We were going to a number of islands in what the muggles call 'the Pacific', Australia and traveling around the rest of Europe. I was excited. Time with my amazing husband was just what I needed. A huge crowd had gathered around the two main doors of the Great Hall. I stepped down from the main table and gripped Fred's hands. It was time to go out into the world as the first time as husband and wife. We walked towards the doors, and let go of each other's hands to say goodbye to our loved ones. I put my arms around Fleur and Gabrielle, thankful that they were both here to share this day with me. Then, I hugged Mother, Minerva, Ginny, Hermione, Bill, Charlie, Ron, Harry, and finally, Teddy and Andromeda. I took Teddy in my arms and kissed his head.

"See you soon, little man." I had grown so attached to Teddy that I felt so sad I was leaving him with Andie. I wanted him to be with me all the time. I sighed and passed him back to Andie and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Andie. Be good to my little man." She smiled down at her grandson and nodded.

"Always."

"Well, if you don't mind Andromeda," Fred said from behind me, taking hold of my hand. "I want to steal this one way for our honeymoon." Andie simply smiled at Fred and I.

As we left the Great Hall, people threw the petals of white roses over us and cheered. Fred and I held hands tightly, leaving the hall triumphantly. I don't think I had ever been happier in my life. Tonight had been perfect. Fleur was right, at the end of the long, dark tunnel that was the war, there was a bright future. Fred and I, we were that bright future. And I couldn't wait to tackle everything in our way with him.

* * *

**A/N: Ahh! The wedding! Did you love it? Did you hate it? ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO, AND THE EPILOGUE! **

**The wedding dress will be up on the tumblr page, along with details about the sequel!  
Tumblr: bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**Next Chapter:  
**"I have some news," I told him. I took his hand and led him into the lounge. "You may want to sit down." Fred sat on the chair behind him, and I sat opposite him and took his hand yet again. I was slightly frightened that he would go into shock.

"So, what's this news?" He asked. I guess I'd just have to drop it on him. There was no other way.


	119. Expecting

**Thanks to: Narnia and Harry Potter 4EVER, TheDiva121, Guest, prankster-at-heart, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, Potterhorse-Spirit, rosiehorgan7, CookieSpells4, Robz Robby and MiraclesHappen94 for your reviews.  
**

_**Songs for this chapter:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Teddy's Theme [See Tumblr]  
To Build a Home by Cinematic Orchestra  
New for You by Reeve Carney  
Bittersweet by Ellie Goulding  
You've Got the Love by Florence + The Machine**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

* * *

**2 Months Later, February 2000 **

"FRED!" I screamed out, attempting to hold my hair out of the toilet bowl. Fred ran in, a crying baby in his arms. I turned around, looking at Teddy's teary face. I held my arms out to him, but had to turn away seconds later, as the next bit of vomit was coming up. I felt absolutely horrible, no other sickness in my life could compare to this.

"What's going on?" Fred asked.

"You tell me, why is Teddy crying?" Before Fred could answer, I turned back to the toilet bowl, vomiting into it some more.

"Because he wants his mother! He wants you!"

"Well, he's going to have to stay with Daddy right now as - " I stopped and leaned into the toilet bowl again, vomiting again. "Mummy is busy!" I exclaimed.

"What's wrong with you?"

"It was probably something I ate, I don't know! I'll be fine, I just need to get it out of my system!" That was a lie. I knew exactly what this was. I had seen it before, with Fleur. Her morning sickness was almost as dreadful was mine. I was making a trip to Madame Pomfrey today to confirm it. I was almost definitely pregnant with my first baby. Once I was convinced that my morning sickness had stopped, I stood up and walked into my bedroom, changing into my normal clothes.

"Where are you going?"

"To see Poppy."

"I thought you said it was all okay?" He set Teddy down on the floor. "I'll come with you. We'll take Teddy to Andromeda's and we can go together to see what this is." How I wished that he wasn't so concerned. It would make this so much easier.

"I just need her to check it isn't a virus or anything." I smiled, hoping to convince him. He didn't want a bar of it though, he frowned at me and shook his head. I sighed at his actions. I really just needed to go on my own. Fred would freak out if he knew this wasn't only a virus. "Please, Fred. I'll be okay. Poppy always takes good care of me. And I need to go see Minerva for a chat. Trust me, I'll be fine."

* * *

I had arrived at Hogwarts to see Poppy Pomfrey. I hoped that she could help me out with this difficult situation. I had never anticipated this to happen so soon. I felt like I had let myself down, and let Fred down. We were married on the twenty-fourth of December, and today was the fifth of February. Not even two full months after our wedding, I was pregnant. Poppy walked through the doors of the hospital wing towards me, a huge smile on her face.

"Isabel, how lovely to see you," Poppy said with a smile, hugging me gently.

"You too, Poppy," I replied, forcing a smile. I did not want to seem in a bad mood.

"If I recall correctly, the last time I saw you was your wedding," Poppy told me.

"That long?" Poppy frowned, noticing that there was something wrong with me. Poppy had a knack for simply knowing things by a persons body language. She took my hand and patted it twice.

"What's the matter, my dear? Surely you are not acting like this for nothing."

"Poppy, I have a feeling that something huge has happened to me."

"What has happened?" She asked, a concerned look on her face.

"I have a feeling I'm pregnant."

"Really? So soon? It's been, what, a matter of months since your wedding?"

"I know it's soon, I know. This wasn't exactly planned. I'm frightened, Poppy. I'm frightened on how Fred will react. And if I am, then I would have two kids, because I've taken Teddy Lupin in and I'm legally his parent now, and - "

"Isabel, breathe, my dear." I paused and took a deep breath in, then exhaled. Poppy smiled and took hold of my hand. "A child is a gift, not something to fear. You have been blessed with something truly special, and I'm sure Fred will realise this too. You are both very much in love, everyone can see that, and if you are truly in love, bringing a child into this world is not the worst thing you could possibly do, is it?" Poppy made a lot of sense. "Lie back on the bed, my child." I did as she said and lifted my shirt up so she could have access to my abdomen. Poppy took out her wand and held it to my stomach area. I breathed in and out slowly, trying to keep myself calm. It was only seconds later that Poppy put her wand back in her wand pocket and nodded.

"You have been blessed with a child, Isabel," she said. "Now, I will need you to come back every month, the same day, for a check up. From my calculations, you will be due around the tenth of November this year. We will transfer you to St. Mungo's for the birth." All of this had become a big blur. I was young and pregnant, and now I was to go home and tell Fred that we were having a child. I did not know whether I was nervous or absolutely terrified.

* * *

I arrived back home, clutching my wand. The whole way home I had argued with myself about the best possible method to tell Fred. How did Fred even feel about having a child? We never discussed it! And now that we had adopted Teddy, we would have two children. Was I even ready for such a responsibility? Was Fred ready for such a responsibility?

"Fred?" I called out, the butterflies in my stomach taking over. I had never been more nervous about something in my life.

"Isabel!" Fred rushed around the corner, a towel in his hand. "I just put Teddy to sleep. The little guy was so exhausted." I smiled at him - he was such a natural at caring for Teddy. He was definitely capable of handling a baby - the problem was that I didn't know if he wanted to. "What did Poppy say? Is everything okay?"

"I have some news," I told him. I took his hand and led him into the lounge. "You may want to sit down." Fred sat on the chair behind him, and I sat opposite him and took his hand yet again. I was slightly frightened that he would go into shock.

"So, what's this news?" He asked. I guess I'd just have to drop it on him. There was no other way.

"I'm pregnant," I said bluntly. His mouth dropped open.

"What?"

"We're having a baby." Fred's shocked face suddenly lit up as I confirmed it. He jumped out of his seat and ran over to mine, kneeling in front of me and placing his hands on my stomach. I was the one that had gone into shock over his reaction. I had never seen him so excited.

"We're having a baby!" He put his hands on my cheeks and kissed me gently. "I love you so much," he said, putting his arms around me and holding me tightly. I started to tear up at his reaction. I was now sure that bringing this baby into the world was right. We were bringing it into a family full of love and excitement. This wasn't the wrong timing, this was the best time to bring a baby into our world. It would be our own little bubble of bliss - Myself, Fred, Teddy and our gorgeous little one on the way.

* * *

**JUNE 2001**

The sun was shining down. Warm, brilliant rays hit my skin. The small gusts of wind hit my shoulders and moved the long grass in the field. How was it possible for there to be such a perfect day? In the distance, a two year old Teddy ran around with Fred. Fred occasionally picked Teddy up, telling Teddy he could fly like the best quidditch player in the world. I smiled at my two boys, having fun together. Teddy had started to call me Mama, and to Teddy, Fred was his Daddy. The weird thing was, it didn't feel strange to hear it. It sounded completely normal coming from Teddy. I then looked down at the beautiful baby I held in my arms. Andromeda Ginevra Weasley, my own little bundle of joy. Born seven months ago in November, she was everything I had ever wanted and more. When she opened her little eyes and smiled at me for the first time, I knew that I was the luckiest woman on the face of the earth. And with each day, I felt even more lucky. I looked back up to see Fred, walking back towards us, Teddy on his shoulders.

"He will turn out to be quite the quidditch player, I think," Fred told me, grabbing Teddy off his shoulders and sitting him down next to me. I kissed Teddy's head, as he leaned over to look at his little sister.

"I think he'll end up being the smart one. He's a lot like Remus, in that sense," I said, watching Teddy reach for his little sister's hand. I'd never forget the day Teddy first met Andie. It was the day after she was born, and I remember his little eyes widening the moment he saw her. I passed Andie over to Fred, then placed Teddy on my lap. My special little boy. I loved him just as much as Andie. He was my son - just what Tonks and Remus wanted in their will.

"Isn't today a beautiful day?" I asked my husband. "We're just so lucky, Freddie. As if our life could be any less perfect. We have a beautiful home next to the sea, we have each other and the two most beautiful children in the world." I wondered what it would be like if Father was still alive. Would he be a good grandfather to Teddy and Andie? I smiled up at the rays of the sun. I knew he was still with me, even if he wasn't physically here.

"Mama," Teddy said, clapping his hands before kissing my cheek. I laughed, picked him up and held him above me. Teddy smiled down at me, and my insides melt, the exact same way his father used to. Their smile was so incredibly alike. It was strange, when I adopted Teddy, the hole in my heart that Remus left when he died, slowly began to mend itself. There would always be a hole, Remus' death was very traumatic for me, but I knew that Teddy could heal my pain, just a little bit.

"Lunch is soon, are you excited?" I asked up at my beautiful boy. He nodded eagerly down at me, then placed each hand on each of my cheeks. It was something he always did, he liked to touch other people's cheeks and hands. I always thought it was because he likes the warmth of a human body. Teddy was special like that. He appreciated life, and he was only a toddler.

"She's going to turn out to be a stunner, this one," Fred said, staring down at the baby he was holding in his arms. His baby. "I'll have to watch out for all the boys, she'll be getting them from everywhere, just like you did."

"I didn't get many in Hogwarts - they were all too scared to ask me out because of who my father was."

"Well, that makes me even luckier than I am then." Fred kissed me on the cheek softly.

"We best be going," I said, picking Teddy up. "We don't want Grandmother Andie to get annoyed do we? Or Grandma Weasley?"

* * *

"We're here!" I called out, opening the front door of my old house. Andromeda came rushing out, a smile lighting up her face once she saw Teddy running towards her. Teddy threw his arms around his grandmother and giggled. Teddy was very affectionate, towards all three of his grandmothers, but especially towards Andromeda. Those two had the most special connection, and that connection was important. They were the only biological family each other had left. I took baby Andie from Fred's arms and held her close to me as we walked through to the backyard of the house. Molly and Arthur sat at the head of a long table; Molly holding my niece, Fleur and Bill's little girl, Victorie her arms. Teddy appeared at the back door and ran over to Arthur quickly. Arthur picked him up and held him in the air, as any grandfather would do with their grandchild. I walked over and kissed Molly on the cheek, then kissed my niece on the cheek softly.

"Isabel, how is she?" Molly asked, looking at Andie who was bundled up in my arms, fast asleep.

"She is fantastic. She's been perfect as always."

"That's surprising," Arthur interrupted, "seeing as Fred was the complete opposite." Fred rolled his eyes at his father, then walked away to see his siblings. Sitting around the rest of the table was Ron and Hermione, Bill and Fleur, Percy and his new wife Audrey, Harry and Ginny, who had just become engaged, and my mother and Gabrielle, who sat at the other end of the table. We weren't exactly the most normal of families, but the bigger the better, I always thought. I sat down next to Fred, and on my other side, Hermione, who had taken a shining to Andie.

"Hello," she said, a huge smile on her face as I passed Andie to her. "She is definitely getting more beautiful by the day, Isabel. She's just a gorgeous baby."

"Yeah, she'll be getting all the boys when she goes to Hogwarts," Ron interjected, looking over Hermione's shoulder at Andie.

"It's funny, that's exactly what Fred said this morning." Ron stared down at Andie, like he was in awe of her. "You can hold her if you want to," I told him. Hermione passed Andromeda over to Ron. He held her in his arms and kissed her gently on the head. I had never seen Ron this gentle with anything before. This was the first time he had ever held her - he refused to hold her when she was born because he was afraid he would drop her on her head.

"Isabel!" I turned around to see Gabrielle. She threw her arms around me, holding me tightly. She had just returned from finishing her fifth year at Hogwarts. I was so proud of everything she had achieved since moving over here to England. She hadn't been through the easiest childhood - an abusive father and two sisters that were never around...I was just glad that now she had a safe place to call home. Molly, at the head of the table, clinked a spoon against her glass and held it in the air. Ron passed Andie back to me, and Teddy ran to sit in Fred's lap.

"Well, here we all are for another family gathering. I think we can all say that there has been no greater joy for Arthur and I to see our family expand to what it is now. We have welcomed in Fleur, Isabel, Audrey, Hermione and Harry into the family as partners for our sons, and our daughter. We've welcomed in Andromeda, Apolline and Gabrielle into our family, and now we've welcomed into the family the first few grandchildren, Teddy, Victorie and Andie. And I believe Percy, you have an announcement to make?" Percy stood up, holding Audrey's hand, a huge grin on his face that I had never seen on Percy's face.

"We're expecting our first child!" I was the first to stand and congratulate Audrey and Percy. Perce and I had our fair share of ups and downs, but I couldn't have been happier for him and his wife at that moment. He looked so proud to say those words.

"Congratulations!" I exclaimed, kissing Perce on the cheek, then Audrey. "Being a parent is the best thing in the entire world. It's definitely changed my life." This was what my world was about now, family. Looking down at the baby in my arms, and the little boy sitting on Fred's lap, I knew I had found my place in the world. I had never fit anywhere before as much as I fit here. I smiled up at Fred as the others started to congratulate Perce on his brilliant news. The sun shined down on our family, just as it had been for the past few years. Everything was going to plan, and everything was okay.

"To family," Molly called out, holding her glass in the air. We raised our glasses in the air, each with a smile. We had no worries in our lives anymore. This was what it was about.

"To family."

* * *

**A/N: So, this is my last author's note for this story, as there will not be one for the epilogue. Wow. We've had a good run, haven't we? I've enjoyed writing this story so much. I feel kind of attached to it now. Oh my god, I don't even know where to begin with what I say. There are so many people I need to thank. Every single person that has ever read this story - thank you. At the moment my story has been viewed just over 107,000 times. That's incredible and I feel truly blessed that so many have even clicked on my story!  
**

**If you have any questions at all about the story, I am prepared to answer all of them, including secrets:  
bellabellex . tumblr . com**

**The sequel is coming, so I really hope you will all read that one too!**

**And thank you so much to every single person that has reviewed:**

**HPFanGirl01, SweetieCherrie, Scoooooby, mischief-bound, Padame Amidala, LadyFateContemplatingDisaster, lil' ninj, LaFlorine, Averymalfoy123, Elfsquire90, Rose of Dark Life, Let's Play Funeral, TheOneAndOnlyBellaRiddle, me12243, Misguided-Angel, zannet88, reverie-scriptor, death wish girl, HPFan, Reader AZ, DyinginWonderland, Tayler Snape13, FuryPossessed, PhotographyJen, Alya Kihaku, Night-Storms, hermywonwon23, Reader, toneale'anncurtis, Reader from New Zealand, BooksDon'tJustTellStories, Devoted Aro Lover, MISS-ROCKER-SAMMIE, Volleyballlover23, PooferPiggyWiggyBella19, hello, hi, AmandatheBookworm, smoochywoochyhigglebottom99, Sailor Dreamer95, RionD, Nanettez, Writerofthegods, Snapeyisabattywaty, ProfessorPoopyPants, DamonSalvatoreShirtless, ArcadeFireBOOM, Julia, TheWomanInBlack, FelixFelicius94, madeyemarauder, Crysalkyubbi-chan, CrystallizedSiren, Zilver17S, Guest, Wanting More, HagridJunior, Claudine, Tessa, PersonThatLikesYourStory, alexis, Random Person, renesnee, Reilaxx, MissyPenguin, aliceAmnesia, SexySnapeTime, Cassia4u, SexyDumbledoreTime, kia, annie, anon, Xterker23, getinmypantscedric, TheDiva121, MiddysADreamer, LG, j, StarlightDreamer16, ZabuzasGirl, Redstarling, IcyRose66, CryDevil, bloodyvalentinex, siriusly, Not-A-Spy, happy easter, Lily Luna Severus Allen Snape, atlas mountain, megan, Sevvy Wevvy's love, ludicrousfools, hang on, youknowwhoyoureallydo, Anon, Guest, NettleBird13, YUNeLenna, HopelesslyInHate, ConfusedSoAmI, amgsupernatural, Mel, plumply plooper, Elliot Pole, humply plooper, melissa, Andy4Masterchef, leafstone, sexyandiknowit, winky and dobby, mr. dinkels, natalie, rebecca, victoria, bookworm42x, xXallegedangelXx, dudulehianette, reasonableperson, ariapyrasyria, brian, anonymous, Alexandra, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, xXChaosForeverXx, silverdragon2010, pottermania bis, jellybeanlover2010, Limavaa, Kimm-Norwood, thingsleftdesired, Chittsu, cinnamonmyra1997, Robz Robby, Me, I-HoPe-YoU-dAnCe1994, CookieSpells4, 4u5513B4b3, ebonbon, Ruvian, shadowkitten11, klara, WizardChaser3163, hotwingincident, Potterhorse-Spirit, prankster-at-heart, Anonymous (aka, the 15 Year old fan of my story), bookreader1617, rosiehorgan7, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, Alice Watson and MiraclesHappen94.**

**Next Chapter:  
The epilogue. **


	120. Epilogue: The Sun Also Rises

**Thank you to: Potterhorse-Spirit, (times 2), Guest, shadowkitten11, rosiehorgan7, CookieSpells4, Narnia and Harry Potter 4EVER, TheDiva121, Guest, Guest, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, Harryandthehippo, bookreader1617, Tessa, McCountryGirl, prankster-at-heart, Nanettez, HPFan and Robz Robby for your reviews.**

**Songs for the epilogue:  
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Isabel & Fred's Theme [See Tumblr]  
Marchin' On by OneRepublic  
Pyro by Kings of Leon  
Go Outside by Cults  
Anything Could Happen by Ellie Goulding  
Up With the Birds by Coldplay**

* * *

**2017  
**

"Andie! Andie, hurry up, breakfast is on the table!" Fred called out. Seconds later, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I rolled my eyes over at Fred. Every morning was a late start with her. Most times I had to pull her out of bed. Soon enough, the tall, pale, wavy red haired and black eyed girl that was my first born daughter appeared in the kitchen, her hand on her head.

"Andromeda Ginevra Weasley, how many times do your father and I have to call out to you before you actually get out of bed?" I asked in a stern tone. She glanced over at Fred, trying to get her father to bail her out. She was such a daddy's girl. "Don't look at your father, Andie. You know what today is and I told you that we all had to be up early."

"I get the point, Mum," Andie said to me. She yawned and sat down at the table. She began eating her breakfast, her back turned away from me. I also sat down at the table, letting out a long breath. I had been up since the early hours of the morning - and I was already exhausted. I felt a hand on my back, and I turned to my right to see Teddy, smiling at me. The smile was so familiar. It was the one that made me melt so many years ago. I could see so much of Remus in him. Sometimes, it hurt me to look at Teddy, because I saw Remus every time I did.

"You alright, Mum?" He asked me. I beamed whenever he called me Mum, not that I was ever going to replace Tonks, I would never be able to do that. However, I wasn't just his 'adoptive Mother' to him. Soon after Fred and I had our wedding, when Teddy was just one year old, we decided to adopt him. I felt as best friend to both of his biological parents, and as his godmother, it was my duty to take him in and love him just as much as Tonks and Remus would. He had grown up calling me Mum, and now he was a nineteen year old man. Time flew past so quickly.

"I'm fine, Teddy, but thank you. You know these mornings always get stressful," I said. It was the 1st of September, 2017. Today I would be sending off my children to Hogwarts, again. I remember the first time I sent Teddy to Hogwarts. It was definitely one of the most emotional days of my life.

"MUM!" Someone shouted. I looked behind Andie to see Harry, jumping towards me, a bag on his back. "Mum! I'm ready to go to Hogwarts now! Can we go now, please?" I laughed and kissed Harry gently on the head. Harry George Weasley, my youngest child, was always this energetic. He had such a mixture of both Fred and I in him, it was scary.

"Darling, you know you have to be eleven to go to Hogwarts. Four more years and you'll be able to go, sweetheart."

"But I'm big enough, Mum!" Harry protested, folding his arms. "I'm a big seven year old!" I laughed at Harry. He argued with Fred and I a lot. He was quite the headstrong little boy. He knew what he want, and he always had to plead his case. He was a lot like me in that sense. Harry sighed when I didn't respond to him, then ran over to his Father. "Dad, I'm old enough, aren't I?"

"Mate, I'm going to have to agree with your mum on this one. But these four years will go around in the blink of an eye and soon enough you'll be heading off to Hogwarts too. How about after we see your sisters off we go with Mum and Teddy to see Granddad and Grandma Weasley?" Harry nodded eagerly, then ran out of the room, no doubt going to prepare presents for his Grandparents. He always had something special to give all of his Grandparents when he saw them. Usually, he would draw pictures of flowers for his Grandma Molly and Grandmère Apolline, and he would draw pictures of muggle objects that he would see or find in all sorts of places for Granddad Arthur. And once every while, when we visited the grave of my father, he would leave something special there as well. It was definitely one of the things that made Harry so special.

"I'm finished, I'm going to go finish getting ready," Andie said, pushing her half full bowl aside, then rising from her chair and stomping back up the stairs. She was going through that stage. She was going to turn seventeen this year and would be in her last year at Hogwarts. Deep down, Andie had a pure heart. She loved her family and treated her friends with special care, but lately she had become a little more rebellious when it came to me. She didn't like some of the decisions I would make for her. Andie had spent most of the summer with her boyfriend, Jack Wood. I didn't mind them spending a lot of time together, because it enabled me to see my good friend, Oliver Wood, his father. Jack, as you could imagine, was in Gryffindor house with Andie and as an exceptionally talented Quidditch player. I was quite happy when Andie announced to me two years ago that her and Jack were dating. He tended to be a good influence on her. I didn't know what was happening now, though. Did he have something to do with her attitude?

"Where's Amelie?" Teddy asked.

"I haven't seen her all morning..." Fred said. "Have you?" He asked me. I shook my head. It was strange, usually Amelie was the first awake. Suddenly, the front door slammed closed, and in walked Amelie herself. It was a big day for her - she was finally heading off to Hogwarts.

"Where have you been?" I said to her when she sat down at the table. "Don't you have to finish packing?" Amelie shook her head, then went to playing with her straight, red hair. She looked exactly like Andie. The resemblance was frightening. Although, Amelie seemed to have more freckles than Andie ever did. "Why not? Have you finished?"

"I finished packing two days ago, Mum. I'm ready and raring to go. I just want to get to Hogwarts." I smiled at her. She had been on about going to Hogwarts for the past year. She was the most excited out of everyone.

"Any thought about what house you want to be sorted into?" Teddy asked his younger sister.

"Slytherin, of course, just like Mum, Grandfather and Grandma Andie," Amelie replied instantly. Amelie turned to me, beaming, and I couldn't help beam back. After Teddy being sorted into Gryffindor, then Andie being sorted into Gryffindor as well, I was ready for one of my children to be sorted into Slytherin. I wiped a tear that had fallen down my cheek. I was so proud of her in so many different ways.

"You're going to make Mum cry, Amelie," Fred laughed. "Isabel, ever the emotional one."

"Oh shush, Fred," I said. "Do you know how much this means to me, Amelie?" I smiled at my beautiful daughter. It was hard to believe eleven years had gone by since I held her in my arms when she was a baby.

"Of course I do, Mama," Amelie replied. "I'm just going to go finish preparing for Hogwarts. Teddy, can you come and help me?" Amelie fluttered her eyelids at her older brother, and he melted and gave in as always. Teddy had always been like that with the his younger sister, and Harry's youngest daughter Lily Luna. He did whatever he could for them. As Teddy and Amelie headed back upstairs, Fred put his arm around me and kissed my cheek. We had been married for nearly 18 years now, and it amazed me that I was as in love with him now as I was when I first walked down the aisle.

"First Teddy, then Andie and now Amelie. Merlin, we're getting old, Isabel," Fred joked. "Is that a wrinkle I see there?" I jumped out of my seat and ran over to the mirror, terrified that Fred wasn't joking around this time. My hand went to my head as I realised there were no wrinkles.

"THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!" Fred sat in his chair, laughing. I walked over to him and shook my head. After all these years he still continued to joke. Fred pulled me towards him and planted his lips on mine.

"It doesn't matter what your age is, you'll always be beautiful," he whispered after pulling back. It amazed me that after all these years we were still so in love with each other.

"I adore you, Fred Weasley," I whispered in reply, my forehead touching his. It was the little moments like this that I never took for granted. I was lucky to still have him in my life after everything that we went through. Everyday I was thankful that he was still here to love me and to care for me. "I think we need to get going."

"I think so too." Fred kissed my head before I stood up and walked to the bottom of the staircase. "Teddy, Andie, Amelie, Harry! We need to go!" Moments later, I could hear loud footsteps at the stairs. One by one, Teddy, Andie, Amelie and Harry appeared downstairs. They were ready to go to Kings Cross Station.

* * *

We arrived at Kings Cross at exactly ten thirty. It gave us half an hour to take our time and catch up with the rest of the family. Kings Cross was as busy as ever. I still remember my first time at Kings Cross, getting ready to head to Hogwarts. It was possibly one of the most nervous times in my life - but I still enjoyed it and remember it all. It's where I met my best friends and my future family. I smiled, thinking of the first time I laid eyes on Tonks. She was weird, for sure, but she was instantly caring and protective of me. I knew that even to this day she was still protecting me - just in a different way.

"Ma! I need some help here!" I turned around to see Andie's trolley stuck in some muggle contraption. I sighed and walked over.

"Andie, when will - "

"Jack!" Andie suddenly ran away from me and leapt into the arms of a boy. It was Jack. Behind Jack were his parents Katie and Oliver. I decided that Andie could get the trolley out herself - I was going to go and talk to my friend. I walked over to Katie and Oliver and gave them both a hug.

"It's been a long time, Isabel," Oliver laughed, releasing me from his hug.

"A year and a half if I am correct," I told them both. "Where have you been? I've missed having you around."

"Oliver and I have been traveling while we've had time off from Quidditch. There isn't much! And we've been spending as much time as we can with Jack, however it seems like he wants to be spending a little more time with Andie by the looks of it," Katie said, pointing over my shoulder. I turned to see Andie and Jack in the middle of a heated kiss.

"Hey, Andie, no letting him Slytherin to your Chamber of Secrets, got it?" My face fell into my hands. My husband never grew up. Ever.

"DADDY!" She yelled at Fred. "What the hell?"

"We're going onto the platform in a second so stop your snogging and get over here with the rest of your siblings! Oh, and nice to see you Jack. Good summer, I hear?" He replied, turning back to us and laughing.

"You're a worry sometimes," I said, kissing his cheek.

"You may not know," Fred said to Oliver and Katie, grabbing my waist, "but that was the pick-up line I used to snag this woman right here." I slapped his arm and rolled my eyes.

"You did not." I checked the time on the clock above us and smiled at Oliver and Katie. "Well, I guess we better be going through to the platform. ANDIE! Come along, you can spend plenty of time with Jack at Hogwarts. It is so good seeing you again."

"And you," Oliver said, patting my arm. I smiled and turned away from them. It was time to go through the platform. Andie went on her own, Teddy took Harry through, and both Fred and I helped Amelie go through to the platform. She was nervous. I could feel how tense she was. She reminded me of myself when it was my first time going to Hogwarts. We walked down the platform, and I could feel the stares coming from children and parents alike. I had become accustomed to people staring at me. I was the daughter of Severus Snape, I was in the Order in the Second Wizarding War. I was the one who killed Bellatrix Lestrange. Of course there was going to be attention on me. I had learnt to deal with it. We reached near the back of the platform to see Ron, Hermione, and their two children, Hugo and Rose. It was Rose's first time going to Hogwarts too. Ron and Fred shared a brotherly hug, and I went to Hermione and put my arms around her.

"It's so lovely to see you, Hermione! You have to stop being a stranger..."

"I know," she replied. "I've just been busy with work and all." She stopped and turned to see Rose, and Amelie talking. "It's hard to believe our girls are going to Hogwarts, isn't it? They're becoming so grown!"

"Well, it's your first time sending one of your kids off. How are you feeling?"

"Old," Hermione laughed. "I still remember the day I walked onto this platform for the first time."

"Yeah, me too. I miss it, actually."

"Do you miss teaching there as well?"

"Definitely, but being the Head of Education at the Ministry isn't too bad," I replied with a giggle. "I would like to go back to teaching at Hogwarts one day though. It's just - "

"Aunty Isabel!" I heard a shout coming from a small girl. I turned to see Lily Luna running towards me. When she reached me, I knelt down to hug her. I had always been close to Lily. She was very special. I couldn't understand the special connection we had, it just was there. "Aunty Isabel, why have you not been to visit me? It's been a week!" Lily pouted at me with sad eyes. I tried to make as much time to spend with my nieces and nephews, especially Lily.

"Oh, Lily flower, I'm so sorry. I've been incredibly busy. I promise we'll spend some time together this week!"

"Promise?" Lily said.

"I promise," I replied with a smile. Lily beamed, then turned to Teddy and jumped into his arms.

"TEDDY!" I laughed at the way Teddy embraced his cousin, and his god-sister. Lily and Teddy had always been close, too. Ever since Lily's birth. Teddy always thought she was special. Lily soon moved onto saying hello to the rest of her cousins, and Fred. Soon, Harry, Ginny, James Sirius and Albus Severus had joined us. As well has having a close connection with Lily, I also had one with Albus. Without a word, Albus put his arms around me and hugged me tightly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"James has been teasing me. He thinks I'll be sorted into Slytherin."

"Darling, if you are placed into Slytherin, remember that I was sorted into Slytherin. And so was my father - who you were named after. I'm sure your Dad has already said all these things to you, but they're all true. There is nothing wrong with Slytherin house."

"But Teddy and Andie were sorted into Gryffindor. So was James, and Victorie. Our whole family are Gryffindors! Mum, Dad, Aunt Hermione, Uncle Ron, Uncle Fred, Uncle Bill, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Percy, Uncle George, all of my grandparents...they were all in Gryffindor!"

"I wasn't a Gryffindor. I was a Slytherin. Al, listen to me. If you're put in Slytherin, it is where you truly belong."

"He's not going on about being placed in Slytherin, again, is he?" James said with a smirk.

"James," Harry warned.

"James, you remember I was a Slytherin? I didn't turn out so bad, now did I?" James lost the smirk from his face and turned away, obviously feeling defeated. I laughed, shook my head, then hugged Harry. "How are you, Harry?"

"I'm good," he replied, returning the hug, holding me tightly. Harry and I became closer and closer every year. It was just over a month ago when we went out for a whole day together to remember someone very special in our lives. It was our tradition every year. Harry was doing well for himself, and I was proud of who he had become. "Another year of sending them off, huh?"

"It's becoming emotionally exhausting," I replied with a laugh. At that moment, I saw someone over Harry's shoulder that I _had _to talk to. "Excuse me for a minute, Harry." Harry nodded as I walked past him towards the near end of the platform. His pale skin, platinum blond hair and grey eyes were hard to mistake. Once he saw me, he smiled. It was rare to see a genuine smile from him, but it was also warming to see how much he had changed, and the amazing new person he had become. He held his arms out, and once I had reached him, accepted me in his arms and held me tightly.

"Hello, Isabel," he said softly.

"Hello, Draco," I replied. I held him tightly for a few moments, then stepped out of his hug. "Astoria," I said, nodding towards his wife. She was absolutely gorgeous, but then of course, Draco was Draco. He would have always had a beautiful wife. I then turned to their son, Scorpius. "Hey, Scor. You excited?" Scorpius nodded and twiddled his thumbs, which was unusual. He was usually very responsive to me.

"Don't worry about him," Draco said. "He's just nervous. He was worried the whole way here who he'd sit with on the train, where he'd get sorted, if he'd have any friends."

"Amelie would love to have you sit with her in the train," I told Scorpius with a smile.

"Wouldn't the Potter's be annoyed at my presence?" He asked. Draco's face paled at his sons words. He never liked hearing of his past. I didn't blame him. But Draco was changed. He didn't have a reason to be embarrassed anymore.

"Trust me, Scor. Amelie, Albus and Rose are all starting this year and they wouldn't dream of passing you up as a friend. Especially Amelie. They won't say anything. And if James says anything, just ignore him. He thinks he's funny," I said. "I promise they'll be good to you." I glanced up at the time on the clock. It was five minutes to eleven. "I better go back to say my goodbyes to my children. Have a great year, Scor. I'll speak to you soon, Draco?"

"Of course," he said with a smile. I turned on my heel and walked back to my family, who started to begin their goodbyes. When I returned, Andie and Amelie both stood there, waiting for me. Andie was the first one to make a move. She put her arms around me and held me tightly. No matter how annoyed she'd get with my when she was home during the holidays, she would always have a hard time saying goodbye when it was time to return to Hogwarts.

"I'll miss you, Ma," Andie whispered in my ear, digging her head into my shoulder.

"I'll miss you too, baby," I whispered back.

"I love you."

"I love you more." Andie let go, and then went on to her Father, Teddy and Harry. Suddenly, Amelie threw her arms around me and held me tightly. She had never been one to show much affection. She was like my father in that sense. She was very apprehensive when it came to showing emotion.

"I don't want to go, Mama."

"You have to, darling. I promise you, you will love it. Hogwarts will be the best years of your life. I promise."

"I love you, Mama."

"I love you too. Don't forget to write to me. And if you get into any trouble go to Andie, or James, or Victorie, or Dominique, or Molly, or Lucy, or Rose, or Albus. You have so much family there. They'll look after you. And don't forget Neville, he teaches Herbology, remember? He's my friend, and your father's. He will help you if you need it." The whistle calling the children for the train blew, and I held Amelie one more time. "Be safe," I whispered, kissing her head.

"Come on Amelie!" Rose called out. Amelie smiled up at me then went to join her older sister and her cousins to board the train. I attempted to hold back my tears as I waved to my oldest and youngest daughters. Bill, Fleur, Percy, Audrey, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Fred and I all seemed to be getting a little emotional as we waved off our children, knowing we wouldn't see them until Christmas. Fred put his arm around me, and I rested my head on his shoulder, while Teddy had the young Harry on his back, and Lily on his right hand. Hugo was cuddled up to Hermione, as was Louis to Fleur. As the clock touched on eleven o'clock, the train whistle sounded out again, and the Hogwarts express began to pull out of Kings Cross Station. I blew kisses and waved to my children, my nieces and my nephews. It was funny how much I missed all of them when they were away. I guess it was because I had learnt not to take my family for granted. As the Hogwarts Express grew more distant from us, we stopped our waving and turned away.

"You okay?" Fred asked. I smiled and wiped my tears away.

"Just an emotional mother, that's all."

"Are we going to Grandma Weasley's now?" my Harry asked desperately.

"Yes, of course," I replied with a smile, nodding. "Who else wants to join us?"

"We will," older Harry replied, looking at Lily and his wife.

"We're in," Bill said.

"Definitely," Percy said.

"I guess that's all of us then," Hermione said with a smile. "A family day at the Burrow sounds like something we all need." I smiled at all my family. Hermione was right. Nothing made me happier than to be around my family. I adored and loved each one of them, and seeing as we had all been through the Second Wizarding War together, we all knew not to take each other for granted. We knew we had to be united and stick together.

Over the past forty-two years of my life, I have been through a lot. The war had taken so much from me. It took my first two loves, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, from me. It took my best friend, Tonks, away from me. It took George, away from me. It took my second father, Ted, away from me. It took the elf who I called my friend, Dobby, with the purest heart, away from me. It took Father, the biggest influence in my life away from me. But I was still standing. I had married the man of my dreams and I had four beautiful children to carry on the Weasley and Snape legacy. I looked towards the unusually sunny sky and smiled. Remus, Sirius, Ted, Tonks, George, Dumbledore, Dobby and Father would all be watching down on me. Everything for once, seemed right. Everything had come together. I still missed all the people that I loved so much who had passed on. It still hurt. But I knew they had found peace.

And so had I.


	121. Author's Note

_Hello to you! _

_The sequel for Disturbing Truths, 'I Remember You' is up now._

_Go and check it out!_


	122. Note: New Story!

_Hello lovely readers!_

The new sequel to Disturbing Truths & I Remember You is now up, called Disturbing Truths III: Ghosts.

Go and check it out!

Love,

_PrincessDieHigh_


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